Ligularia 'The Rocket'
Ligularia stenocephala 'The Rocket' · Asteraceae
Tall, narrow spires of bright yellow flowers on near-black stems rise in midsummer above large, jagged, heart-shaped leaves. It needs constant moisture.
- Size
- 5 ft tall, 3 ft wide
- Zones
- 4 to 8
- Light
- Part shade to shade
- Flowers
- Early July to early August
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Specimen
A bed built around ligularia 'The Rocket'
The planner designed this bed around ligularia 'The Rocket' when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) cottage garden in zone 6, part shade. It chose the other plants from the 513 that suit those conditions, and says below why ligularia 'The Rocket' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Ligularia 'The Rocket' × 1, yellow
- 2 Moor grass 'Greenlee' × 5, tan
- 3 Wherry's foamflower × 8, white
- 4 Turtlehead 'Hot Lips' × 3, pink
- 5 Japanese anemone 'Honorine Jobert' × 3, white
- 6 Bergenia 'Winter Glow' × 7, red
- 7 Snowdrop × 7, white
- 8 Grecian windflower × 12, blue
Why this plant
- The only yellow.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 5 ft it is the tallest plant here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to turtlehead 'Hot Lips' (3 ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- One plant, alone. A feature plant is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- In flower for six weeks. From early July to early August.
- In company. With moor grass 'Greenlee' in early July: 2 kinds at once.
Planned as a cottage garden: 20 of the 27 plants (74%), bulbs aside, stand alone or in groups of no more than five, small enough for the kinds to mingle. Hot and cool in equal measure: yellow and red against pink and blue, with tan and white to calm things between them. Neither end outweighs the other: the visual weight is split 45 to 55, left to right.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 5 Good, 1 Satisfactory. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where ligularia 'The Rocket' goes in a border
At 5 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is tall (4 to 5 ft).
Its job: specimen. A feature plant with a shape of its own. It stands alone with room around it, and repeats only at a distance.
Strong verticals are scarce in shade, and this is the boldest. The dark stems make the yellow glow. Site it in moist soil out of afternoon sun.
- Tall yellow spires for moist shade
- Pond and stream sides
- Bold foliage
What to plant with ligularia 'The Rocket'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Rodgersia: in flower together for three weeks, from early July; a low mound at the foot of its spires; happy in the same moist soil.
- Astilbe: in flower together for three weeks, from early July; fine leaves against its bold ones; low enough (24 in) to stand in front of it.
- Ostrich fern: its green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; medium leaves against its bold ones.
Questions about ligularia 'The Rocket'
Does ligularia 'The Rocket' need sun or shade?
Ligularia 'The Rocket' grows in part shade (2 to 4 hours of sun, mostly in the morning) and shade (less than 2 hours of direct sun, or bright dappled light).
It wants soil that stays evenly moist, rich in organic matter, and plenty of water.
What zones does ligularia 'The Rocket' grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 8. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does ligularia 'The Rocket' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers early July to early August. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 4 | Mid July to mid August |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Early July to early August |
| Zone 6 | Early July to early August |
| Zone 7 | Late June to early August |
| Zone 8 | Late June to early August |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should ligularia 'The Rocket' be planted?
2½ ft (75 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 3 ft (90 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 5 ft (150 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many ligularia 'The Rocket' plants do I need?
At 2½ ft apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 2 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 5 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 6 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as one, with clear ground around it: a feature plant is seen as an object, and a group of them is a thicket.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is ligularia 'The Rocket' poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Is there a native plant like ligularia 'The Rocket'?
Ligularia 'The Rocket' comes from China to Temperate East Asia. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Black cohosh: the same size and the same flowering time; an accent, not a specimen, white, not yellow.
- Wallich's wood fern: the same job in a bed; 16 in shorter, grown for its leaves, not its flowers.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat ligularia 'The Rocket'?
They may. NC State does not list it as resistant to deer or rabbits. Where they visit, protect it, or plant it among ones they avoid.
What flowers after ligularia 'The Rocket'?
Ligularia 'The Rocket' is over by early August. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Japanese anemone: from mid August to early October, 3 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Lilyturf: from early August to mid September, 16 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Hosta 'Guacamole': from early August to late August, 24 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does ligularia 'The Rocket' look like in winter?
Ligularia 'The Rocket' dies down to the ground and there is nothing to see until spring. The old stems can be cut in autumn, or left until spring as shelter for overwintering insects.
More Ligularia
- Ligularia 'Bottle Rocket' Ligularia 'Bottle Rocket'
- Ligularia 'Britt-Marie Crawford' Ligularia dentata 'Britt-Marie Crawford'
- Ligularia 'Desdemona' Ligularia dentata 'Desdemona'
In these guides
- Pet-safe plants for shade
- Tall perennials and grasses for the back of a border
- Plants with spires: vertical accents
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 5 ft (150 cm) tall, 3 ft (90 cm) wide
- Plant
- 2½ ft (75 cm) apart
- Height class
- Tall (4 to 5 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Early July to early August; upright spires; yellow
- Leaves
- Bold texture, herbaceous; green
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 8
- Light
- Part shade, shade
- Soil
- Rich, evenly moist
- Water
- High
- Feeding
- Moderate, in spring
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Comes from
- China to Temperate East Asia
Checked against NC State Extension. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.