Plant Question?

Sandra R
by Sandra R
Does anyone know the name of this plant? It was given to me by a client and I started out with one small clump and now have many. They get about three ft. high and in the fall get a thin stem at the top with very tiny pink flowers. Nice color in the fall. Will grow anywhere.
  19 answers
  • Erica Glasener Erica Glasener on May 04, 2012
    Sandra, this plant looks like Persicara viriginiana var. filiformis grown for its attractive foliage. A member of the knotweed family many in this group can become aggressive spreaders in the garden. Here is a link with photo. Beautiful leaves. http://www.flickr.com/photos/peganum/3662472688/in/photostream/
  • Janis Janis on May 04, 2012
    Persicaria virginiana 'Painter's Palette' , a happy little plant, sun/part shade, 18 -24". It can be prolific by seed, but I think not enough to become invasive. LOVE it, but don't have any. Maybe I'll be seeking some out soon! J Williams, Lawrenceville, GA
  • Sandra R Sandra R on May 04, 2012
    Oh Janice, it is VERY prolific at my house. If it keeps going it might make it to you in GA by next month.I had put a few in my dry riverbed last year, from baby plants, and this spring I have to actually weed all the babies, from those two plants, out.If you need some e-mail me, glad to share.
  • Teresa D Teresa D on May 04, 2012
    Reminds me of a hosta, but never seen one like that. Never heard ot Painter's Palette either. Something else for me to look up! Cool! Janis, let me know if you run across any in our area.
  • Melissa K Melissa K on May 04, 2012
    Hosta. Unk on the name but it is a hosta and can be divided very sucessfully.
  • Alice Z Alice Z on May 04, 2012
    Yes, that is a Hosta, but not sure about which variety. There are literally thousands of variations. VERY easy to grow in a shades area, they love water and are drought resistant. Will grow fast and in summer will start to send up a stalk which produces flowers in a tubular shape. I have found that the bigger the leaf (dinner plate sized) the bigger the flower - may just be one flower the size of a trumpet! The fragrance is wonderful in the large varieties. Do not cut well for vases. Great for filling in around trees.
  • Douglas Hunt Douglas Hunt on May 05, 2012
    I believe Erica and Janis correctly identified the plant as Persicaria. Hostas are not known for their fall color.
  • Sandra R Sandra R on May 05, 2012
    It is not a hosta, the bloom time is from end of Sept. to Nov. Does reproduce by seed more than root. I think this year from two small transplants I have 2,000 new baby plants (all over)
  • Erica Glasener Erica Glasener on May 07, 2012
    Check above for the ID on this plant, by me and Janis. Happy gardening.
  • Sandra R Sandra R on May 07, 2012
    Thank you Erica, you are correct. I knew it wasn't a hosta, I have almost all the different varieties of those.
  • Wendy E Wendy E on May 09, 2012
    This is a beautiful plant! Will have try and find some for myself!
  • Greedith B Greedith B on May 10, 2012
    Love it...I too am gonna see if I can find some
  • Sandra wilson Sandra wilson on Jun 06, 2015
    asked your county ext. agent. Or horticulturalist
  • Sandy Sandy on Jun 23, 2015
    Looks like a type of hosta.
  • Linda Linda on Oct 10, 2015
    This is a type of hosta. Grows like crazy anywhere you put it . likes a lot of water at first planting until it takes hold
  • LeeAnn Gerleman LeeAnn Gerleman on Apr 16, 2016
    Its a hosta. There are billions of these in Iowa. People seem to like them. I don't. I put a box on my curb with about twenty of these plants and you would think I'd tossed fifty dollar bills in the box. They also attract mosquitoes, for some reason. There are many different colors in the hosta family, and they are easy to grow and difficult to dig up and get rid of. lol
  • Sue Kiene Sue Kiene on Apr 23, 2016
    I agree with Painter's Pallette. Looks pretty cool to me
  • Chris mara Chris mara on May 31, 2016
    No, that's not a hosta. Its actually a perennial that reseeds itself (which is why LeeAnn, you have billions :) of these in Iowa). Some people like to say it's invasive but I would not go that far. It reseeds itself in other areas (seeds prob. carried by birds?). It gets small flowers in fall. I myself had never seen this plant before until a friend shared some with me and I have been an avid gardener for years and years. It is called a "corporal" plant because the leaves have a "corporal uniform stripe!" It likes partial to full shade. The latin name is persicaria virginia or Virginia jumpseed or Lance Corporal. I guess in some areas it can become a nuisance, but here in Illinois, it's made a nice clump for me with a few plants popping up in unexpectedly here and there in other garden beds, but it's easy to cull them by just pulling them out or replanting elsewhere or giving them away.
  • Leslie Leslie on Nov 05, 2016
    This is a variety of persicaria -possibly Persicaria virginiana. Hope this helps. Looks great in shade and will probably not reseed as much in shade.