Care-free tips for growing asarum

Low-maintenance and also low to the ground, asarum is made for the shade. Any place protected from sun will suit this cold-tolerant perennial, which is often called wild ginger. Here's what you need to know about asarum to start growing it today.

• When crushed, the leaves release the scent of ginger, although they are not considered edible. The plant is so named because its root was once used as a substitute for that exotic spice.
• If you need a ground cover plant that's always trim, tidy and impeccably well-groomed, look no further than Asarum canadense, a native of the North American woodlands good to Zone 3. Grown for its 13-centimetre-tall (five-inch-tall), downy green, heart-shaped leaves, this species forms a carpet that bears up well when summer weather becomes torridly hot.
• Its European counterpart, A. europaeum, good to Zone 4, is similar in shape and size, but its leaves are brighter green with a glossy, waxy shine and subtle veining. It is somewhat less tolerant of heat and drought than its native cousin, but remains reliably evergreen through winter.
• Both wild gingers bloom in early spring as the leaves unfold, but the flowers are easy to miss.
• Appearing close to the ground, the small, brownish purple, urn-shaped flowers are inconspicuous except for their gently refreshing scent.

Asarums are tough and care-free and, although they spread over time, they are not invasive.

• New foliage sprouts from wiry underground stems called rhizomes.
• Wild ginger thrives in shade even where the soil is not deep or rich.
• They prosper under trees and shrubs, on the northern side of buildings or walls and in other hard-to-plant spots where sun seldom shines.
• Ideal landscape partners for these rich, glossy leaved ground covers include other light-shunning perennials, such as epimedium, hosta, Solomon's seal and trillium, as well as trees and shrubs of all sorts.
• Wild ginger's broad, smooth leaves are particularly attractive when they are played against the feathery foliage of ferns, astilbe and meadow rue.

• Buy potted nursery-grown plants of wild ginger in early spring.
• Dig a five-centimetre-deep (two-inch-deep) layer of compost into a shady site and set the plants at the same depth they grew in their containers, spacing them 15 centimetres (six inches) apart for good ground coverage in time.
• Growth will be slow for the first year or two, but eventually asarum forms handsome mats that creep outwards while staying low.
• It looks better and better each season and lasts for many years.
• To encourage strong spring growth, spread 2.5 centimetres (one inch) of compost over the bed every fall.
• If any of the evergreen leaves show brown edges or other damage from winter, simply clip back the stem to ground level and the plant will quickly send up fresh new foliage.
• Like many other woodland perennials, asarums defend themselves during drought by going dormant. To keep the plants in leaf through dry spells, water weekly and mulch with a five-centimetre-thick (two-inch-thick) layer of fine bark chips or compost to safeguard soil moisture.
• At the same time beware of slugs and snails, which can make a home in damp mulch. Hand-pick them in the evening, set out saucers of stale beer to trap them, or deter them with a barrier of coarse sand or crushed eggshells around plants.

Wild ginger grows slowly and rarely needs dividing, but you can dig out rooted sections of the plant about 10 centimetres (four inches) in diameter and transplant them to a new place in early spring if you want to introduce it to a new area.

• Fill the hole left behind with loamy soil, and neighbouring asarum plants will soon fill the gap.

This care-free perennial is ideal for any shady garden. Keep these tips in mind and grow asarum like a pro!