Boehmeria cylindrica
Family - Urticaceae
Category - Perennial
Season of Interest - Spring, Summer, Autumn
Hardiness - H5
Height - up to 1.5m
Width - 90cm
Location - The Cool Garden, The Wedding Ring Border
Description: A clump-forming herbaceous Perennial with an upright, bushy habit. Bold, bright mid-green leaves are rounded to ovate in shape with heavily toothed and jagged margins. The leaves are reminiscent of those of the stinging nettle, though Boehmeria cylindrica will not sting. Dioecious (male and female flowers are held on separate plants). Small flowers are a shade of greenish-white and held in short spikes up the stems. Female flowers tend to be relatively evenly spaced on the spike, whereas male flowers tend to be clustered more closely together. The Blooms are produced from midsummer into autumn, though this plant is mainly grown for the attractive foliage. Rare in cultivation.
Flower:
Diecious. The small flowers are greenish-white and held in upright spikes up the stems. The female flowers tend to be evenly spaced on the spikes, whereas male flowers tend to be more clustered together. The blooms are produced from July into September.
Flower colour: Greenish-white
Flower shape: Small flowers in spikes
Flowering time: July, August, September
Foliage:
Bright mid-green leaves are rounded to ovate in shape with heavily toothed and jagged margins. The leaves are held in opposite pairs on the sturdy, upright stems. The leaves turn pale yellow in autumn before falling.
Foliage Senescence: Deciduous
Foliage Shape: Rounded to ovate
Autumn Colour: Yellow
Propagation:
Division, seed.
Cultivation:
Best in full sun to partial shade in fertile, moisture-retentive soil that is well-drained.