How to Plant, Grow, and Care for Rohdea Japonica
Rohdea japonica, or Japanese sacred lily, has been cultivated for hundreds of years as a beautiful ornamental ground cover. Kevin Espiritu will give you all the information you need to grow healthy plants in your garden.
Contents
Rohdea japonica is a stellar evergreen herbaceous perennial of the genus Rohdea, also known as Japanese lily or sacred lily. Its dark green foliage grows on forest floors in Korea, Japan, and China, slowly spreading across hills and mountain slopes.
This rare, tropical-looking oriental plant is one of the most highly prized perennials in Japan. It’s native to both Japan and China where it’s naturally found in moist woodlands and on grassy slopes.
This plant can serve as an incredible addition to your ornamental landscapes and as a ground cover plant.
Plant Overview
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Plant Type
Herbaceous perennial
Family
Asparagaceae
Genus
Rohdea
Species
Rohdea japonica
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Native Area
China and Japan
Exposure
Dry shade
Height
6-24”
Watering Requirements
Moderate
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Pests & Diseases
Anthracnose, brown spot, no known pests
Maintenance
Low
Soil Type
Well-draining
Hardiness Zone
6-10
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What is Rohdea Japonica?
Rhodea japonica is commonly known as the Nippon lily, Japanese sacred lily, or sacred lily. It is a rare and beautiful plant that can be a nice evergreen addition to your deep-shade gardens and will look just as stunning in the winter, too. They are ideal woodland plants that can act as ground cover or edge a walkway.
Native Area
It is native to China, Korea, and Japan. Here it lives in tropical forest understories and spreads through rhizomatic roots. This perennial evergreen plant thrives in shaded woodlands and forest floors, naturally growing under trees and in moist, humus-rich soil. Its native regions have a temperate climate, with distinct seasonal variations that Rohdea japonica is well adapted to, particularly cooler winters. It has a long history in Japanese gardens, where it is often grown for its ornamental foliage and low-maintenance nature.
Rohdea japonica It has been cultivated in Japan for at least 500 years and probably for just as long in China. It’s considered a “good fortune” plant and that’s why people use it as a gift for housewarming parties, birthdays, and baby showers.
Characteristics
Sacred lily looks good all year round, especially in a shade garden. The rosettes are elongated with wide, thick, and arching dark green leaves. Tiny blooms have a whitish green to yellow flower color. They turn to bright red attractive berries in fall and winter. These berries persist throughout the winter at the base of the plant.
Clusters of its red berries are produced among the cluster of dark green leaves by the small whitish green flowers after they have bloomed and faded. It’s from these and the rhizomatic roots that this sacred lily reproduces and spreads through a garden area.
This perennial grows in clumps of deep green foliage and does especially well in the shade garden when grown in fertilized soil. It’s a slow grower but can be divided as the clumps can grow large.
Varieties
This plant is available in a number of varieties. Here are some of the most common ones.
- Rohdea japonica ‘Chirimen Boshi’: This is an unusual variety of Japanese lily with rough and wavy plastic-like dark green leaves with narrow creamy white edges. The plant reaches about 12″ inches tall and has a spread of nearly 20″ inches.
- Rohdea japonica ‘Herbie’: This variety has wide rosettes consisting of dark green leaves that stretch outwards and are bordered with a narrow white band from the tip of the leaf to the base.
- Rohdea japonica ‘Miyako-no-Hana’: This variety grows comparatively faster and can quickly form clumps about 20″ inches tall and 2″ wide. Leaves display an irregular green and creamy blotched pattern that’s mostly seen from the center of the leaf to the tip.
- Rohdea japonica ‘Shiro Botan’: This variety comprises long arching and pointed, thick green leaves heavily banded with large white blotches. They look great in small woodland rock gardens and even in containers.
Planting
To plant Rohdea japonica, start by selecting a well-draining spot with partial to full shade, as it thrives best in low-light environments similar to its native woodland habitats. Prepare the soil by enriching it with organic matter, such as compost, to ensure it’s moist yet drains efficiently.
Plant each Rohdea japonica with enough space around it to allow for its broad, arching leaves to spread, generally around 10-18 inches apart. Dig a hole that is slightly larger than the plant’s root ball, set the plant in at the same depth it was in its container, and fill in with soil. Water thoroughly to settle the soil around the roots. Rohdea japonica is drought-tolerant once established but will benefit from regular watering during dry spells, especially in its early growth stages. Adding a layer of mulch around the plant helps retain moisture and maintain soil temperature.
How to Grow
The Japanese sacred lily is a hardy plant so it’s not difficult to grow. Here are some specific care requirements for this plant.
Light
It’s mainly a full shade-loving plant that likes partial to full shade. It should not get the afternoon sun; otherwise, leaves will burn and die. It naturally grows beneath the forest canopy, so it prefers partial to full shade and does well in dappled or filtered sunlight.
A bit of indirect or morning light will help it grow more vigorously and maintain healthy, glossy foliage. This adaptability to low light makes Rohdea japonica a popular choice for shaded garden beds and indoor spaces with limited natural light.
Water
This plant is drought-tolerant so it has average water needs. You have to water it regularly during summers to keep the soil moist. Try not to overwater, as this can damage the roots. During fall and winter you can reduce the frequency of watering as the plant will likely be dormant at this time.
Even though it’s drought-tolerant you may want to water in summers that have little rainfall. At the same time, allow the top few inches of soil to dry before applying irrigation.
Soil
Rohdea japonica prefers well-drained soil with a rich, loamy, or silty composition. Clay loam is also appropriate, as long as it’s well-draining. The ideal pH range is 5 to 7.8. Ensure your soil doesn’t have too many retention materials.
This ground cover plant needs dry soil from time to time. In fact, dry soil is one of the most important things that distinguishes this tropical plant’s care from others like it.
Temperature
While the roots of your lily will remain intact in colder climates, the foliage tends to die back in these settings. If planted in shady areas, heat is not an issue. It is primed for sweltering tropical areas. It grows well in USDA Hardiness Zones 6-10.
Fertilizer
You may fertilize your young plant early in the growing season with a balanced slow-release fertilizer. Once established, it can do well without fertilizer, and an annual top dressing is enough. Treat container-grown plants in the same manner.
Maintenance
Plant in the ground or in a container. Transplant small plants from the nursery into well-drained soil. You can simply plant it and let it be a ground cover plant.
If you’re growing it in a pot, you should repot it after it has doubled in size. This may occur once per year. Repot it in a container of one size larger than the previous one. It’s at this time you can divide the plant into other pots or areas of your garden.
Pruning of the dark green foliage will be mainly for ornamental purposes as the plant is slow-growing. If you notice any brownish-yellow, dying leaves, you can remove them from the base. You can also remove the red berries or the insignificant flowers on the plant if you don’t want them to drop into the soil and germinate.
Propagation
You can propagate the plant by division or by seeds that come from red berries. Sow seed in a greenhouse as soon as they are ripe. When they are sufficiently large in size, you need to prick the seedlings out of the red berries into individual pots and grow them in the greenhouse for the first winter. You can then plant them in their permanent positions later in spring or in early summer.
When dividing the plant, loose it from the soil and locate growth points on the rhizomatic roots. You can usually pull a growth apart to divide the plant into parts, each of which will become new plants. If you have excess pieces of rhizome with one set of leaves attached, you can cut off the excess rhizome and pot it up in well-drained soil to grow new plants.
Common Problems
There are no serious growing problems with slow-growing Grow in rich and moist soil and under partially shaded conditions, and there should not be any issues.
Growing Problems
While it’s really hard to create problems with this plant, placing it in an area that gets too much sun may caused singed leaves. If this occurs, move it to another area of your garden where it can grow under the cover of shade.
Pests
There are no known issues of pests with this plant. It’s a rabbit and deer-resistant plant.
Diseases
In some cases, this plant can get a fungal infection called Colletotrichum liriopes which is an anthracnose disease (Glomerella species). Remove infected parts of the plants. In severe cases, remove and destroy the whole plant.
Brown spot is a symptom of anthracnose that can arise when treatment of the pathogen that causes the disease has not been treated. If you see water-soaked lesions on the leaves, treat them!
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are my Rohdea japonica leaves turning yellow?
Yellowing of leaves is mostly a sign of underwatering. You should increase the frequency of watering to keep the soil adequately wet especially during summers.
What do Rohdea japonica’s flowers look like?
Rohdea japonica has insignificant flowers that grow on stems in a cluster. The flower color is pale yellow to greenish-white. They turn into showy cones of red berries in winters.
Are Japanese lilies perennials?
Yes! They are evergreen tropical perennials in zones 6 through 10.
Can lilies be left in the ground over winter?
Yes. Especially in zones 7 through 10 the rhizomatic roots of this plant should survive in an area with good drainage, even in cold. In more tropical zones it remains green year round.
Do you cut back lilies for winter?
Most of the time, they’ll die back to the base of the plant on their own. Let them go in winter, and don’t bother pruning them.
What temperature is too cold for lilies?
These lilies are very highly prized because they are cold-hardy and their roots can survive cold down to -25°F (-32°C).
Do lily bulbs multiply?
These particular lilies do spread via their rhizomatic roots.
Do lilies like morning or afternoon sun?
These can handle some morning sun, but afternoon sun can be too much. Keep them in partial to full shade, generally.
