I have taken over the care of several of our condo gardens. My predecessor planted several plants that are unknown to me. This little gem is about 12" - 15" tall. The leaves are basically green but some have white markings and some have darker green markings. The little bumps on the stalks are bright red and look like very tiny berries. Is this plant hardy in Minnesota? Is there anything I should do to ensure its survival next year? Seeds? Digging up? And yes, my predecessor did use many plants that are not hardy in Minnesota and had or will have to be replaced. Thanks for any help you can give me. Karen moderator's note: added a more descriptive title to topic
It's hard to see the Foliage in your photo. But from your description and the look of the flower stalks I think what you have there is Persicaria virginiana 'Painter's Palette' Common name, Virginia Knotweed . Though I don't know your zone there in Minnesota, this plant is hardy to zone 4. So as long as your not in a lower zone it should come back fine for you after winter. It'll die completely to the ground and come back up in the spring. They get quite large too. Also, they can self sow from those little Berry's. So you'll have a lot more come up next spring. Just pull them up when they're young if they go where you don't want them.They're real nice plants. Joy
Check out the pictures on this link. Does this look likr your plant? Persicaria virginiana 'Painter's Palette' http://www.robsplants.com/plants/PersiVirgi.php
Thanks Joy, I checked out the link and it sounds like the same plant except I don't recall any white on the leaves - the plant has already started to die back because of our early cold snap this year. But the leaves do look like the lower leaves in the picture. It sounds like a great plant so I hope it will survive. We are zone 4 so I should be in luck. Thanks again, Karen
If the leaves of your plant had reddish V shaped markings on them, then it is probably one of the forms of PERSICARIA virginiana. There are several but they all have that distinctive leaf coloring, one of the reasons they are so well liked. Some gardeners prefer to plant a lot of annuals simply so they can have a garden that changes it's look every year. And some gardeners don't know the difference between an annual and a perennial or what the Hardiness Zone rating is. And some just buy the plants they like no matter what kind they are.
Funny, I should have re-read my initial post where I said some of the leaves have white markings. And they do have the reddish V-shaped markings. The leaves do resemble a different knotwood that I know have in a different garden. The person who took care of this garden before me did not keep comprehensive records of what she planted. Although she said she preferred perennials to annuals, she sometimes ignored in which zone it was a perennial - lol. It will be interesting to see what returns next year. Thank you both for your help.
