Houttuynia
Houttuynia (Latin: Houttuynia) is a monotypic genus of incredibly colorful plants from the Saururaceae family.
Description
Houttuynia is a perennial with reddish stems, often reaching a height of thirty centimeters.
The leaves of this moisture-loving beauty are bluish-green and have a rather unusual heart-shaped form. The plant’s robust rhizomes allow it to grow vigorously in all directions—they can even thrive under sturdy concrete paths, which distinguishes Houttuynia from all other rhizomatous perennials.
Houttuynia’s small, white flowers have five petals each, and this remarkable plant blooms in early summer. The Houttuynia genus contains only one species—Houttuynia cordata. However, a number of its cultivars are of great interest from an ornamental perspective. The ‘Plena’ cultivar invariably delights with its stunning double flowers. The ‘Chameleon’ cultivar, while not boasting double flowers, stands out from the others with its variegated white, yellow, red, and green leaves. The ‘Variegata’ cultivar, while characterized by a relatively small number of flowers, always delights the eye with its surprisingly colorful leaves of reddish-green hues, densely spotted with creamy and yellowish spots.
Where it grows
In the wild, Houttuynia grows from the Himalayas all the way to Japan. It can also be encountered in the Caucasus, though as an extremely undesirable weed on impressive tea plantations. This creeping, easily rooted plant thrives in coastal areas.
Uses
Houttuynia can be used to quickly fill gaps between taller plants growing in shallow water. It also looks equally impressive in rock gardens, small marshes, and picturesque coastal areas of ponds. Houttuynia looks especially striking against a backdrop of sedges and various ornamental grasses.
The Japanese make a wonderful, invigorating tea from houttuynia, while the Vietnamese and Chinese grow it as a leafy salad plant.
This moisture-loving beauty also has a number of medicinal properties, although experimenting with it on your own is not recommended to avoid allergic reactions.
Cultivation and Care
Houttuynia thrives in sunny locations; even with slight shade, its variegated leaves quickly return to a normal green. It’s quite undemanding when it comes to soil. Although it thrives in a well-drained substrate, it thrives just as well in colorful rock gardens.
Ideally, this charming plant is planted in shallow water or marshes. It can also be planted in coastal areas with decently moist soil. Its planting depth should be between five and ten centimeters. When planting Houttuynia, it’s important to immediately limit the space it occupies by digging plastic or metal strips at least thirty centimeters deep around the perimeter. When growing Houttuynia, care should be taken to avoid excess nitrogen—either in the soil or in the fertilizers you periodically add to it—otherwise, it will impact its ability to successfully overwinter.
Houttuynia is propagated either by dividing its rhizomes or by cuttings. Division is ideally done in spring or summer (preferably during the first half, so the plant has time to strengthen before winter). Overall, this beauty is quite undemanding and even boasts fairly good frost resistance.
Houttuynia in landscape design. Where to plant in the garden?!
Houttuynia houttuynia
