Nature Profile
Plants
Kirengeshoma palmata (yellow wax bells)
Kirengeshoma palmata
Yellow wax bells is a large shade-loving herbaceous perennial native to mountainous areas of Japan and Korea. It offers a shrub-like habit, coarse texture, and pale-yellow flowers from late summer to early fall. This elegant plant in the hydrangea family was awarded the Royal Horticulture Society’s Award of Garden Merit in 1993 and is grown as much for its foliage as its flowers. The opposite, deeply lobed and coarsely toothed leaves can be up to 8 inches across, resembling a maple or sycamore leaf with an almost felt-like appearance. Combines nicely with many woodland or shade plants, where its coarse texture and large mounded habit provides bold contrast to more finely textured and upright plants. Plants prefer moist and shady sites but can tolerate more sun if adequate moisture is provided.
[Photo: Kirengeshoma_palmata_kz1; Credit: Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons]
Bloom Color: Yellow
Bloom Time: Fall, Late Summer
Light: Full Shade, Part Sun
Moisture Needs: Moist
Size: Small
