'Golden Queen' is its name, which makes the hazard totally obscure to all innocent admirers. Truth be told, there is plenty to admire: nice clumps of ornamentally dissected, jagged-toothed, deep green leaves; gracefully slender but sturdy stems, and finally, large globular buds bursting open in late spring bringing into every garden an explosion of unsurpassable mango- orange flowers. Well, the resemblance to mango fruit ends here as all parts of Chinese Globeflower are poisonous. The good news is that the poison does not transmit through looking at the beautiful blossoms. However, there have been observed some symptoms of strange intoxication: those who happened to look at 'Golden Queen' got severely addicted to the plant and developed a desperate compulsion to grow it in their own garden. Beware!
Trollius chinensis 'Golden Queen' (aka Trollius ledebouri) is a valuable perennial especially suitable for shady and partially shady gardens, where its bright flowers add a lot of light in June. Globeflowers require rich soil and o lot of moisture but not waterlogged sites. Such locations are for other species as the roots of globeflowers cannot stand in water. But the plants look great near all kinds of water bodies, be it ponds, lakes, streams or... rainwater puddles.
Murderous proclivities run in the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae) as its trade mark. It might be an explanation why a lot of buttercups and other species are so overtly alluring and display a range of wonderful colours, shades, shapes and sizes, and they all go "unpunished", as the plants feel totally safe. Animals - including people- avoid eating them. Only aphids find the poisonous sap delicious and absolutely harmless. What a pity!
There are several species (Trollius europaeus, T. asiaticus, T. yunnanensis, and their hybrids known as T. x cultorum) as well as a few cultivars available on the market. They differ in the time of flowering but all are spring and late spring flowering plants. The colour range of the globular flowers encompasses alabaster white, light and deep yellows as well as deep orange tones. The early globeflowers make perfect cut flowers, the late flowering ones too, but their principal place is a perennial border as they are quite tall (90 cm, 2ft.) along with deep blue salvias and velvety blue siberian irises, purple and azure larkspurs, white chrysanthemums, and red and pink roses, to name a few. After the first flush of flowers you may consider cutting the stems back heavily to encourage a second one. Unfortunately, it cannot be guaranteed.
When the plant clumps are big enough you can divide them in early autumn or spring. 'Golden Queen' produces abundant seeds which germinate freely. Let them do so. After several years you can count on a mind-blowing spring display of mango-coloured flowers.
Murderous proclivities run in the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae) as its trade mark. It might be an explanation why a lot of buttercups and other species are so overtly alluring and display a range of wonderful colours, shades, shapes and sizes, and they all go "unpunished", as the plants feel totally safe. Animals - including people- avoid eating them. Only aphids find the poisonous sap delicious and absolutely harmless. What a pity!
There are several species (Trollius europaeus, T. asiaticus, T. yunnanensis, and their hybrids known as T. x cultorum) as well as a few cultivars available on the market. They differ in the time of flowering but all are spring and late spring flowering plants. The colour range of the globular flowers encompasses alabaster white, light and deep yellows as well as deep orange tones. The early globeflowers make perfect cut flowers, the late flowering ones too, but their principal place is a perennial border as they are quite tall (90 cm, 2ft.) along with deep blue salvias and velvety blue siberian irises, purple and azure larkspurs, white chrysanthemums, and red and pink roses, to name a few. After the first flush of flowers you may consider cutting the stems back heavily to encourage a second one. Unfortunately, it cannot be guaranteed.
When the plant clumps are big enough you can divide them in early autumn or spring. 'Golden Queen' produces abundant seeds which germinate freely. Let them do so. After several years you can count on a mind-blowing spring display of mango-coloured flowers.
Jarek
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