Ligularia ‘Little Rocket’

We’ve loved this plant on our Thurning ground for its dramatic, upright habit. From mid to late summer, it sends up impressive spikes of bright yellow, daisy-like flowers on near-black stems, held high above the foliage. The leaves themselves are large, heart-shaped, and create a handsome mound of green texture.

A more compact version of its parent ‘The Rocket’, this perennial will form a clump reaching about 1 metre tall and 0.5 metres wide. ‘Little Rocket’ is a moisture-loving plant. It thrives in deep, fertile, reliably damp soil in partial shade, but will tolerate full sun as long as the ground never dries out.

The key to success is consistent moisture; the large leaves will wilt dramatically if the soil gets too dry. It’s a relatively low-maintenance plant and doesn’t require any real pruning. We just cut the old, withered stems down to the ground in early spring before the new growth appears.