Japanese sacred lily

Rohdea japonica

I first became enamored with Rohdea japonica, back around the time President Richard Nixon uttered that immortal line, “I am not a crook.” Always on the lookout for new plants that weren’t available in mainstream nurseries, Rohdea japonica was a perfect discovery. A few years later, I first met a few of the named varieties on a visit to the JC Raulston Arboretum lath house, which was my go-to source to see new and rare plants.

Having been a hosta collector for
over a decade at this point, I noticed without much effort from my overly vivid imagination, that rohdeas were like evergreen hostas, and there seemed to be enough different varieties to satisfy my collector urge….why have one when you can have 100 different varieties. The only problem was that many of the fancy Rohdea cultivars still hadn’t made it to the US. Fast forward to today, we’ve managed to acquire over 70 named varieties
and dozens of our own un-named seedling selections.

Back in the 1970’s, the genus Rohdea was part of the giant lily family that also included hostas and asparagus ferns. In the early 2000’s, the asparagus and lily family suffered through an acrimonious taxonomic divorce, in which the asparagus family was awarded sole custody of the genus Hosta, Asparagus, and Rohdea. Rohdea japonica, itself was discovered a few years prior…1784 to be exact, when it was actually thought to be a brother to our NC native golden club, Orontium aquaticum, and therefore named Orontium japonicum. Fast forward 38 years later, the genus Rohdea was born and Rohdea japonica was adopted as its first member.

Rohdea japonica has a wide native range, not only in its’ namesake Japan, but also in six Chinese provinces, where it resides on woodland slopes. Like its’ brother, Hosta, Rohdea forms a ground-hugging rosette, that offsets each year, making a larger and larger clump. A typical mature Rohdea japonica will reach around 20” tall” x 2’ wide.

Although rohdeas do flower, the flowers are held on short basal stems, called peduncles, which are nestled in the base of the foliage and subsequently are rarely seen by anything other than a ground fly or occasional slug. In early November, however, the pollinated flowers swell to create attractive, short club-like green seed heads, which then start the coloration process which culminates around Christmas when the fruit turns bright red. The color holds through most of the winter, creating beautiful photo opportunities when we have light snow.

Rohdea japonica ‘Sekkei no Homare’

Rohdea japonica ‘Apple Court’

Rohdea japonica ‘Feelin’ Groovy’

Rohdea japonica ‘Golden Eggs’

The Japanese, long ago realized the variable nature of Rohdeas when grown from seed, and began collecting dwarf, contorted, and variegated cultivars, which now number nearly 1000. As early as the mid 1400’s Rohdea japonica was already being used as a foliage filler in Japanese floral arrangements.

The significance of Rohdeas in Japanese culture is enormous, and in the 1600’s, they took on the common name Omoto, and later the western common name, Japanese sacred lily. Omoto societies sprung up throughout Japan and the collector craze had begun. The more unusual the Rohdea leaf, and the more dwarf and contorted the form, the more highly they were prized. In Japan, few people actually grow Rohdea in the ground, instead opting for very expensive decorative pots, called Nishiki Bachi. I will admit to being a Rohdea voyeur on some of the Japanese on-line auction sites, where some of the more expensive, slower-growing variegated varieties can often sell for over 10,000 US dollars each.

In the US, most gardeners opt to grow Rohdeas in the ground, where they make fabulous evergreen bold-textured clumps in the woodland garden, looking good long after most other plants have begun their winter hibernation. When Rohdea japonica was first introduced into commerce, it was thought to be quite tender to winter cold, but through trials, we have found them to be fine outdoors as far north as Zone 6 (north of Boston).

Although Rohdea japonica is legendary for its ability to tolerate dry shade, the growth rate is far faster in slightly moist soils. On the downside, Rohdea japonica will never become a mainstream nursery plant since its production time is usually 2-3 years, and subsequently, the price it commands will keep it out of the large box store market. Still, the easy-to-grow Rohdea japonica is certainly worth seeking out for a special place in the woodland garden.

– Tony Avent