Aspidistra elatior
Cast - iron plant might sound like a strange name for a tropical evergreen , but once you clear how exceptionally tough this flora is , you ’ll understand the label .
Aspidistra elatioris fantastically tolerant of neglect . drouth barely phase it , low light is n’t a trouble , and a lack of fertilizer is no big trade .
It ’s seldom troubled by pests or disease , and when it is , it shrug them off without much trouble .
Photo via Alamy.
In fact , this industrial plant ’s only weaknesses seem to be full sun and soggy soil . And even verbatim sun believably wo n’t obliterate it , though it will burn the leaves .
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I ’m sure I vocalize like I ’m the head word of the mold - iron plant life fan order here , but it ’s really knockout not to love a plant that keeps on truckin ’ no matter what ’s thrown at it .
If you ca n’t hold back to jump in and determine more , here ’s what we ’ll discuss come up :
What You’ll Learn
If you ’re tired of pampering your houseplants only to have them fail on you meter and again , cast of characters - iron plants are the antidote to a brown thumb . Here we go !
What Is a Cast Iron Plant?
The cast - Fe plant ( Aspidistra elatior ) is aboriginal to Taiwan and the southerly island of Japan , where it grow in the understory of the wood . It boast long , tapered leaves that are shiny fleeceable , sometimes with bar or spots .
It produces strange - looking majestic blossom that egress out of the rhizome at ground level , but this rarely happen indoors . If it does , tip down nigh to the soil and give the blossom a snuff . It smell kinda musty , a lot like a mushroom cloud .
If you ’re wonder why on earth a plant would send a stinky heyday out of the land , this is because it ’s essay to attractfungus gnats(Cordyla sixiandBradysiaspp . ) .
Yep , those vexing slight pests that infestation houseplants , buzzing around your headland , unexpectedly jetting into your nose , and landing in your glass of wine , are indispensable toA. elatior .
Botanists Kenji Suetsugu at Kobe University and Masahiro Sueyoshi at the Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute in Tsukuba , Japan , scrunch down to study the pollination of these unusual flush .
Their research was print inEcology , the journal for the Ecological Society of America , in 2017 .
They discovered that fungus gnats would enter the flower , in all likelihood reckon it was a mushroom that they could feast on , only to re - emerge in what one might imagine is abject disappointment at the deficiency of a fungal sideboard .
The blossom , on the other hand , got what it need . The gnats were covered in pollen , which they transferred to the next bloom as they looked for another meal .
Of course , these were a different group of fungus gnats than the single you ’d probably receive in your home , since the ones in the study are native to Japan , but that does n’t intend the gnats in your neck of the woods could n’t be tricked into belly out up to the cast - iron flower buffet if yours encounter to flower .
An evergreen recurrent , A. elatiorgrows to about three feet tall and wide , but normally stick around little indoors . It does n’t have a cardinal fore , but rather , each folio come forth from the rhizome underground .
The scientific nameAspidistrais Greek for “ shell ” andelatioris Latin for “ taller , ” a byname which is used to refer the fact that this plant has tall , lance - shaped leaves .
It looks middling similar to ahosta , which makes it idealistic if you want to add the spirit of that recurrent favorite indoors .
If you decide togrow it out of doors , it can hold out inUSDA Hardiness Zones7 to 11 . If you fight with deer devouring your hostas , this is a good option since cervid disregard them when tasty food can be incur .
Cultivation and History
TheAspidistragenus , which include about 100 specie , was first name by plant scientist John Bellenden Ker Gawler in 1822 in the Botanical Register .
Over the next few tenner , theelatiorspecies gain popularity and became more widely available in the UK , and later , in the US .
When we say thatA. elatiorbecame democratic , that does n’t quite draw the followers that it amassed . For a specimen that only arise uncivilised in a few places in Asia , it certainly take the Western World by storm .
In Edwardian and Victorian home it became a symbolisation of a skillful , middle - grade life in the same way that we may name to having a home with a white picket fence today .
The fact that it could hold the less - than - ideal conditions in household during that period – which generally included dim lighting , and pitiful air quality thanks to coal and gas lighting and heating system – undoubtedly kick in to its popularity .
TheAspidistracraze put it in good order in the sights of several artist .
George Orwell pen a novel that namechecked the ubiquitous industrial plant . In “ Keep the Aspidistra Flying , ” Orwell critiques the unceasing chasing of money and position , writing that middle - class societal climbers of the clip wanted nothing more than “ to settle down , to make estimable , to betray [ their ] soul for a villa and an Aspidistra elatio ! ” and that “ they ‘ kept themselves respectable ’ – kept the aspidistra flying . ”
The protagonist Gordon Comstock even taste to wipe out his own specimen by bestow salt to the soil and burning it with cigarette butt , but he finds the thing is impossible to kill .
revulsion author William Fryer Harvey offered his own take on the plaster cast - branding iron plant in a short story foretell The Man Who hate Aspidistras about a homo ghost by the unkillable plant .
Scottish mountain lion Samuel Peploe madeA. elatiorthe field of several of his post - impressionistic oil picture in the 1920s . Singer Gracie Fields wrote a comedic ode to theAspidistrain 1938 with a song called “ The Biggest Aspidistra in the World . ”
But as with anything that rides high in the coat of arms of popularity , it eventually fell out of favor .
When I mentioned cast - Fe plants to a fellow plant - loving friend , she remarked that her grandma had lots of them but she never ascertain them around any longer . That ’s a wrong I believe should be righted .
Cast Iron Plant Propagation
Because of the aforementioned unusual method of pollination , which is n’t highly successful even in the natural state , seeds are n’t available .
That ’s okay , because even though multitude are no longer writing musical court to cast of characters - iron plants ( that we do it of ) , they ’re still widely available .
Plus , if you could get your hands on one , it ’s incredibly easy to make more of them through division .
From Divisions
To part , the first step is to remove it from its container and gently remove as much of the soil as potential . If you need to use a gentle stream of weewee to wash off refractory soil , feel free , but make trusted it ’s half-hearted .
Then , find a natural division between the stems . So long as you are capable to include a piece of the rhizome , the plant will probably go on to thrive , so do n’t experience like you need to split it right down the center .
Use a clean pair of secateurs to cut through the roots and rhizome , and attempt to admit at least one leaf . Even if you do n’t , your plant will still send up newfangled outgrowth , so long as you admit a knob . That ’s the slight nub where a leaf or root will emerge from the rhizome .
Replant the parent in its container with some fresh soil and place the new partition in its own pot with fresh soil . The rhizome should sit about an column inch below the top of the soil , with the side where the leaf emerge place at the top .
irrigate the soil well , and keep the soil moist but not soused until newfangled growth go forth .
From Seedlings/Transplanting
Keep an heart out at greenhouse and house commodity stores for hurl - smoothing iron plants , cake room plants , orAspidistras . They can be labeled under any of those names .
Once you find one , bring in it home and place it in a decorative pot with proficient drainage .
Choose a pot that is one or two sizes larger than the glasshouse Mary Jane . These plants do n’t need massive containers , but if you provide them with more room , they will expand in size .
A container that is a few inches wider than the base of the industrial plant is idealistic , but you could also grow it in a with child container so you wo n’t have to worry about buying a new one .
dramatis personae - iron plants can live in a three - gallon container for their integral living . Just make certain whatever container you select has drainage holes .
And becauseA. elatiorhas roots that uprise near the grime control surface , you may utilise a shallow container . For a young works , you may get away with just six inches in deepness , and for a mature specimen , nine inches will do .
Fill the bottom of the raw container withpotting soilso that the flora will sit down at the same height it was in its nursery container .
You do n’t need to expend special potting filth , anything you pick up at the store will do .
I ’m personally a fan of Tank’s - Pro Potting Mix because it contains a 50:50 mixture ofcoconut coirand compost , which provides water retention , drain , and nutrient that will serve most plant fly high .
Tank’s - Pro Potting mixing
you could grab a 1.5 - cubic - foot bagat Arbico Organics .
Remove the plant from the greenhouse container and gently remove the soil from around the rootstock . put it in the unexampled container and take in around it with land .
H2O well to root the soil , be trusted to empty that saucer after 30 minutes or so , and add up more soil if it settled more than an inch .
How to Grow Cast Iron Plants
The challenge with some tropical houseplant is that they have a low permissiveness for temperatures beyond a certain range , particularly when it comes to cool temperatures , and they require to be maintain humid .
Most homes have dry line , thanks to air conditioning and force - air heating . ButA. elatiordoesn’t mind dry line , low light , or even caretakers who are less than diligent about lacrimation .
Do n’t tell anyone I tell you this , lest I be labeled as a remiss plant parent , but I forget to water mine for a calendar month one time . I put it in my studio in the backyard and forgot about it . When I finally remember , I raced out there to appraise the wrong , and it was sitting there like no time had passed at all .
Keep it out of direct sun , provide water once the top in of soil dry out , maybe wipe the farewell to dispatch any build - up rubble , and you’re able to fairly much forget about this flora .
In other parole , your access should be by all odds hands - off . It thrives on being ignored .
you could keep the plant in a dark room and piss less often , but this will hail at the disbursal of novel growth . Direct sun and heat will burn the leaves .
Unlike some houseplants , which you should water until the liquid run out of the drainage hole , you should stop watering once the moisture has penetrated the top six inch .
The rhizome of this plant farm right along the surface of the soil , and water bass will just be wasted or contribute to root rotting . On the bright side , that urinate these plants excellent candidates for uprise in shallow container .
If the tips of the leafage take up to turn brown , reduce the amount of water you ’re providing , peculiarly if it ’s winter . Plants need less moisture during the wintertime sleeping time of year .
A lot of plants also organise brown confidential information when the humidity is too low , but withAspidistra , too much water is more probable to be the trouble .
While it can survive in temperature as low as 35 ° F , it will go dormant once the temperatures drop below 50 ° atomic number 9 .
If you repot every few years ( as we will talk about in just a spot ) , there is no need to fertilize . find free to add some houseplant fertilizer adulterate by half in the spring and summer , if you want .
Growing Tips
Pruning and Maintenance
Because roll - iron plants detain evenhandedly flyspeck , you do n’t have to continually repot them in large containers . You should , however , freshen the dirt every few old age .
This applies to any container - bound works . As soil ages , it compacts , the nutrients leach out , and it can become aquaphobic .
To repot , take out the flora from its container and brush or moisten away as much of the soil as you may . set new soil in the container and locate the plant back in place . Fill in around it with more invigorated pot soil and water well .
cut back away any yellow leaves , or any leaf that you just do n’t wish the look of .
If it grows too magnanimous for your liking , feel free to disunite away .
Cast Iron Plant Cultivars to Select
This plant life is often sold under its generic common name , as you ’ll find atplaces like Nature Hills Nursery , but do n’t let that hold you back from look for out some of the arresting cultivars that you may also find out there .
Cast - Iron Plant
There are plaster cast - atomic number 26 plants that are stipple in star - like blotch , and others that look like they ’ve been paint with a water-colour copse .
For instance , ‘ Asahi ’ has a stunning white band that looks as though it was painted down the top third of each leaf . ‘ Ginga Giant ’ has dark green , wide leave-taking covered in bright yellow spot .
To learn about all the best aspidistra options available , check out our pathfinder . ( coming soon ! )
Managing Pests and Disease
Honestly , I ’m include the pestis and diseases on this list because it istheoreticallypossible that your industrial plant can be affect by them .
But it ’s far more probable that you ’ll have job with sun scorch or swampy root from overwatering , if you do encounter any progeny .
Insects
It ’s rare for insects to attack mould - Fe plants , but if they do , they usually wo n’t kill them . That is , unless it is already dampen from overwatering or sunshine exposure .
There are numerous species of plate worm in the Hemiptera order that will fertilize on houseplant . panoplied scale is rare , but other types can be reasonably common .
With a large enough plague , they can stimulate wilt and yellowing of the leaves . When you face at an infested plant , you ’ll notice little lumps on the stems and undersides of the leave . Insecticidal grievous bodily harm can help you to get an plague under control .
Our guide to scaleprovides some first-class tips .
Red wanderer mites ( Tetranychus urticae ) are another vulgar variety of houseplant pest . Rather than seeing symptoms on the flora , you ’ll in all probability detect the mulct webbing that these spider relatives leave behind .
Neem oil and insecticidal goop are both effective treatment options . Our guide hasmore information on how to deal with spider mites .
Disease
There ’s just one disease to watch out for , and it ’s moderately easy to avoid . Meet the dreaded root putrefaction .
Root Rot
Root rot can be make by various fungal pathogens , species ofRhizoctonia , andFusarium , and water cast in thePythiumandPhytophthoragenera , or by simply drown the roots with too much piddle .
The latter is far more common than the former , but since you need access to a lab or a good microscope to hump what ’s make the trouble with certainty , you ’ll postulate to handle for both causes if you spot preindication of this ailment at family .
The first step is to remove the plant from its throne and transfer all of the soil . If the soil is soggy and smells musty , you could be fairly sealed that you ’ve been overwatering .
Next , shave away all of the soggy or soppy root . Clean the container using a mixture of one part bleach and nine parts H2O . Repot in impudent potting stain .
CEASE Biological Fungicide
Finally , do by the Modern soil with a product containingBacillus subtilissuch as CEASE Biological Fungicide , following the manufacturer ’s direction . This will aid to address all sort of pathogens that can have antecedent rot .
Grab a gallon or 2.5 - gallon container ofCEASE at Arbico Organics .
Get more tips on treating theme rot here .
Best Uses for Cast Iron Plants
Aspidistrashines as a potted specimen , with or without other plants . It can be a centrepiece to lower - growing species , or it can be set alone .
It does well in both deep and shallow containers , and larger cultivar do full as story plants . Do n’t forget that you could use them outside as non - invasive undercoat covers in suitable zones as well .
Quick Reference Growing Guide
Every Bit as Tough as Their Name Suggests
Even the brownish thumb can follow with dramatis personae - Fe industrial plant . It does n’t matter if you have killed every other houseplant you ’ve hear so far , or if you ’re just sick of pampering your potted brother , A. elatiorwill become your new good friend .
That ’s not hyperbole . Any industrial plant that could thrive in the dark Interior Department and polluted breeze of Edwardian and Victorian home base can certainly live on whatever you drop at it . Just do n’t leave alone it in direct sun or a pool of water , and you ’re good to go .
Now that you ’ve hike yourhouseplantgrowing confidence , you might be excited to grow a few more easy - forethought variety . If so , give the follow a read next :
© Ask the Experts , LLC . ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.See our TOSfor more inside information . Originally release January 31st , 2022 . Last update May 12th , 2023 . Product photos via Arbico Organics and Nature Hills Nursery . Uncredited photos : Shutterstock .
About
Kristine Lofgren
