Other Names:  Knotweed, Polygonum

Description:

A daring foliage perennial; pointy heart shaped leaves are chocolate-purple, with a silvery V shaped marking; flowers are almost an afterthought; an exceptional choice for season-long color in a garden composition

Ornamental Features

Chocolate Dragon Fleeceflower's attractive large pointy leaves remain burgundy in color with prominent silver stripes throughout the season on a plant with a mounded habit of growth. It has masses of beautiful spikes of white flowers rising above the foliage from early summer to early fall, which are most effective when planted in groupings. The flowers are excellent for cutting.

Landscape Attributes

Chocolate Dragon Fleeceflower is an herbaceous perennial with a mounded form. Its relatively coarse texture can be used to stand it apart from other garden plants with finer foliage.

This plant will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and is best cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season. Gardeners should be aware of the following characteristic(s) that may warrant special consideration;

• Spreading

Chocolate Dragon Fleeceflower is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• General Garden Use
• Groundcover
• Naturalizing And Woodland Gardens
• Container Planting
• Bog Gardens

Planting & Growing

Chocolate Dragon Fleeceflower will grow to be about 3 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 4 feet. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 3 feet apart. Its foliage tends to remain dense right to the ground, not requiring facer plants in front. It grows at a fast rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 10 years. As an herbaceous perennial, this plant will usually die back to the crown each winter, and will regrow from the base each spring. Be careful not to disturb the crown in late winter when it may not be readily seen!

This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It is quite adaptable, prefering to grow in average to wet conditions, and will even tolerate some standing water. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.

Chocolate Dragon Fleeceflower is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its height, it is often used as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.