San Marcos Growers LogoSan Marcos Growers
New User
Wholesale Login
Enter Password
Home Products Purchase Gardens About Us Resources Contact Us
Nursery Closure
Search Utilities
Plant Database
Search Plant Name
Detail Search Avanced Search Go Button
Search by size, origins,
details, cultural needs
Website Search Search Website GO button
Search for any word
Site Map
Retail Locator
Plant Listings

PLANT TYPE
PLANT GEOGRAPHY
PLANT INDEX
ALL PLANT LIST
PLANT IMAGE INDEX
PLANT INTROS
SPECIALTY CROPS
NEW  2024 PLANTS

PRIME LIST
  for SEPTEMBER


Natives at San Marcos Growers
Succulents at San Marcos Growers
 Weather Station

 
Products > Plants - Browse By Region > Aspidistra vietnamensis 'Ginga'
 
Aspidistra vietnamensis 'Ginga' - Dwarf Spotted Cast Iron Plant

Note: This plant is not currently for sale. This is an archive page preserved for informational use.  

 
Habit and Cultural Information
Category: Perennial
Family: Asparagaceae (~Liliaceae)
Origin: China (Asia)
Variegated Foliage: Yes
Flower Color: Cream
Bloomtime: Spring
Synonyms: [A. elatior 'Dwarf Milky Way', A. 'Ginga Minor']
Height: 1 foot
Width: <1 foot
Exposure: Shade
Irrigation (H2O Info): Medium Water Needs
Winter Hardiness: 0-10° F
Aspidistra vietnamensis 'Ginga' (Dwarf Spotted Cast Iron Plant) - Perennial with dark green leaves that have yellow spots scattered over the entire surface. The leaves rise vertically to 10 to 15 inches tall from a slowly spreading rhizome to eventually form dense clumps. As with other Aspidistra elatior cultivars this plant has the ability to grow in adverse conditions, such as in dark shade areas under eaves or interior courtyards, or in filtered light. Although able to survive these conditions for even extended dry periods, it requires well-drained soil and looks best with regular irrigation and fertilization during spring and summer.

Plant in a shaded location and water occasionally to moderately and dust or hose off the leaves to keep them attractive. Cream and purple-colored flowers in spring are at ground level and are pollinated by snails - while interesting they are rarely seen and not showy. Hardy in outdoor conditions to short duration temperatures at least down to 15°F and to 0° F with mulching.

Long cultivated as a cultivar of Aspidistra elatior, a species native to Taiwan and islands in southern Japan, with the cultivar name 'Ginga Minor' or as Aspidistra elatior 'Milky Way' and it was later listed as a cultivar of Aspidistra lurida before Aspidistra vietnamensis was formally described. The name for the genus comes from the Greek word 'aspidion' meaning "a shield" in reference to the typical broad lanceolate leaves of the species that are shield shaped and the specific epithet is a reference to this species coming from Vietnam. We grew this fun small cast Iron Plant that we got in 1992 from Herb Kelly at his Kelly's Plant World in Sanger, California from 2006 until 2016 but no longer have it in production. 

This information about Aspidistra vietnamensis 'Ginga' displayed is based on research conducted in our horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also will relate observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we receive from others and we welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share any cultural information that would aid others in growing it.