Fatshedera

[BeyondTheGarden]

I was at the nursery and there were some variegated Fatshedera in 4" pots, they're not my favorite plant but I grabbed one anyway.  It reminds me a lot of its parent, hedera, which doesn't conjure a tropical or exotic image in my mind.  The yellow and whitish variegation is nice however.  

I'm struggling to imagine how to best utilize this in the garden.  When I've seen them in gardens before, they look like wimpy shrubs that flop over and grow prostrate like they're looking for a home.  Any good ideas on how to make the most out of this plant? 

[Manalto]

I happen to like fatshedera (I've got the 'Angyo Star' cultivar, below) but I agree that its sprawling habit makes it tricky to use in the landscape. Probably my most successful attempt was on the trellis on which I also have Confederate jasmine. It's a nice bright contrast to the vine's unremarkable foliage when the jasmine is not in bloom. I occasionally lop off a branch or two of the fatshedera to propagate and plant alongside the mother. This ensures that there will always be foliage at the base, because this species gets lanky and is notorious for shedding its lower leaves. This use complies with my two rules for fats:

1. Needs support (structure or other plant)

2. Grow in combination with small, understated foliage.

Edited January 9 by Manalto

[BeyondTheGarden]

Thank you @Manalto that confirmed my suspicion that I would want to grow up it against something for support.  I don't believe Hedera sheds lower leaves, but I know my Fatsias have always done that.  They're almost like ferns in habit, a new halo of growth emerges in the spring, and by summer, the bottom ring of foliage gives up the ghost. 

What fern is pictured below your specimen there?

[Chester B]

I guess you don’t remember my Fatsahedra. You would classify these as a scrambler. They need something to grow on, or they will sprawl messily all over the ground. Last winter defoliated mine but they flushed back out all along the stems. Not my favorite plant either, I don’t think I will buy them again. 

[BeyondTheGarden]

I do remember yours @Chester B, that was my first time seeing Fatshedera, and I believe I remember having to ask you what it was. 

[Manalto]

12 hours ago, BeyondTheGarden said:

 @Manalto

What fern is pictured below your specimen there?

I'm embarrassed to admit I never identified this fern that appears spontaneously just about everywhere. My best guess is Dryopterus ludoviciana, but that's just a guess. Here's a closer photo for identification: 

 

 

It's an attractive understory plant (until January, when it gets pretty shabby) so I tend to leave them, where they mask the bare lower stems of Fatshedera, for example.

I've never met anyone who likes Fatshedera, that awkward mixed-race step-child, so I've taken it upon myself to make it work in the landscape, and I'd like to think I've achieved some moderate success. Mine is along the narrow walkway to my rear patio, so it's hard to miss. I do believe I've even had one visitor admire its handsome variegation, but that may be my imagination playing tricks.

Edited January 10 by Manalto

[BeyondTheGarden]

@Manalto that's funny, I just purchased the same from plant delights. 

[Manalto]

4 hours ago, BeyondTheGarden said:

@Manalto that's funny, I just purchased the same from plant delights. 

 

Nice. It's a tough fern. I like the way plants that multiply like these wander through and tie the elements of a landscape together.

[Manalto]

I used the fatshedera in a pair of containers I planted today, with kalanchoe and lysimachia.