Ligularia dentata Desdemona - Leopard Plant

Ligularia dentata 'Desdemona', also known as Leopard plant, is a tall herbaceous perennial that deserves a prime spot in gardens. Its spectacular foliage, cordate, rounded, and generous, and its fragrant flowering are its greatest assets. It produces beautiful bright yellow-orange stars in the middle of summer, appearing above its green and purple foliage, resembling daisies. This robust and sculptural perennial will thrive in a garden with partial shade and gentle sunlight, where it will never lack water.  

The Ligularia dentata 'Desdemona' belongs to the Asteraceae family. This robust perennial forms a large compact clump of over 1m (3ft) in height and 60cm (24in) in width under favourable conditions. Its growth is quite slow. The leaves reach 30cm (12in) in length and are carried by a long petiole. They are tough, cordate at the base, and very rounded, with serrated edges. The upper surface of the leaves is greenish-purple, while the underside is strongly tinged with burgundy and bronze. From July to September, large corymbs of bright yellow-orange heads with brown centres, measuring 10cm (4in) in diameter, bloom at the top of tall, red, and branched stems.

Plant Ligularia dentata 'Desdemona' in moist, rich, deep, neutral to acidic soil. This plant cannot tolerate water shortage. It adapts well to clay soils if they are humus rich and not waterlogged. Growing with exceptional vigour in moist and deep soils, Ligularia dentata 'Desdemona' can cover significant areas. It pairs well with royal ferns, Himalayan blue poppies, loosestrifes, and willowherbs to adorn the edges of water features, for example. It will naturalise well wherever the soil is consistently moist and protected from scorching sunlight.