Kitchen Garden Forum

This aquatic plant was featured on tonights Gardeners World. It is commonly known as Skunk Cabbage ( Lysichiton americanus ).
It was introduced to Britain over 100 years ago from America.

It grows in shallow water and boggy ground. It has become invasive and is a risk to other plants and blocking water courses, ditches and streams, the sale or exchange of plant or seed is now banned. Because it manages to create heat it is even growing on remote Scottish hillsides, surviving Scottish winters.

Gardeners & landowners who have it are required to stop it from spreading.

These pictures were taken at the Royal Parks Isabella Plantation, Richmond Park where, rather ironically, it was growing in abundance.

I like my clump of Skunk Cabbage, it's a sign of Spring, it's staying!

Geoff
There is no reason why it cannot stay, but it must be controlled.

Once it has flowered cut off the stem, dry it and burn it so that seeds do not spread.

The same problem started being experienced a few years back with Parrots Feather, another invasive non-indigenous aquatic plant.

Whilst I might like the look of skunk cabbage, I would much prefer to see our own Marsh Marigold, and rarer Giant Marsh Marigold, surviving and prospering

It's a bit of an ugly thug isn't it. I suppose a splash of yellow would brighten a shady corner. There are quite a few old stately home type gardens round here with large patches of it and it does swamp everything else out if it isn't managed.

I'm with you Pa on preferring our King Cups for those moist areas. They have much nicer leaves and lovely bright shiny petals and I think they fit in much better with all the other plants around them. But everyone has their own preferences that's why it's nice to see other people's gardens. I liked Monty Don's comments on show gardens when he said he preferred to see something beautiful rather than pyramids and weird structures.

Agree PP,

when I first started exhibiting at Chelsea (trade stand not floral exhibit) the 'gardens' were precisely that, gardens. I suspect there will be a lot of 'modernist' type gardens on tele this coming week. UGGHHH

There's a fair bit of invasive stuff up here causing chaos with the wildlife, from rhododendrons to Himalayan balsam and giant hogweed. My own garden is infested with ground elder from a previous owner bringing in infected plants, flippin' Victorians.

If you ever visit RHS Harlow Carr at Harrogate, you will see lots of skunk cabbage along the stream as well as beautiful bog primulas.

Saw a wee peek at something new at Chelsea in today's paper. An invisible greenhouse - for £3,000 (looked about 6' x 8' for that price) you can have a greenhouse with only corner joins with full sheets of glass (maybe perspex but it did say glass). No joins for naughty things to hide & more light & nice downpipes for water collection on each side. It did not have plants in the picture but garden furniture - don't think it would be too comfortable sweating on the rattan in a greenhouse in the summer! I think I would push the boat out if my numbers ever came up though! Mail on Saturday if interested or some clever person can find a link!

Cheers Geoff!

Smaller than I estimated & that must be the basic model without the downpipes etc. Thinking it is a good idea though, with that much light getting in, especially early in the season. A quick peek at mine in the back garden shows 7 panes of glass on the door end and a load of framework - and the door slide is warped as well! Thinking of lucky numbers as I write!

My 25 ft x 13 ft cost £3000 15 years ago. It's a very strong commercial one with safety glass and has been brilliant. Much bigger than I was planning but my son saw it advertised and said he'd put it up for me. I don't think I'd spend so much on a little one.

Glass is glass even toughened can shatter , all you need is a deepish scratch on the surface or a small chip on the edge the first frosty night it could shatter

how did we get from a topic of Skunk Cabbage to greenhouses and glass ???

Oh hang on, it diverted due to a invisible greenhouse so these must all be invisible replies.

Saw the glasshouse at Malvern recently.
Not impressed in the slightest.

Oh and whilst diverted to Malvern, I saw the airpots again, another viewing did not improve my opinion of them

Think the Chelsea topic sneaked into the wrong subject. But little squares of safety glass falling from the greenhouse roof is much safer than shards of glass when the local youth decide to kick football's through it.