Skunk Cabbage
Lysichiton americanum. ARACEAE.
Planting and Growing Skunk Cabbage
You’ll find everything you need to know to plant and grow skunk cabbage in the accompanying table’s tabs:
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- Flowers, foliage, and root structure of skunk cabbage
- Plant hardiness and growing conditions for skunk cabbage
- Season of bloom and planting time for skunk cabbage
- When, how deep, and where to plant skunk cabbage
- How to plant skunk cabbage
- Watering, fertilizing, care, and pests or diseases of skunk cabbage
- Landscape and container uses of skunk cabbage
- Comments about skunk cabbage and its features
Growing Skunk Cabbage
Several cultivars of low, spreading, rhizomatous, deciduous, semi-aquatic perennial herbs, 3–6 ft. (90–180 cm) tall. Shiny, deep green, broadly oval, pointed leaves, to 5 ft. (1.5 m) wide, unfurl after bloom, bearing a slight musky odor.
Skunk cabbage are related to Lords-and-Ladies, Arum italicum, a popular tuberous bulb, and to common Cala Lily, Zantedeschia species, wetlands rhizomatous perennial bulbs frequently grown as houseplants.
Planting and Care Guide
Blooms
Showy, yellow, flowerlike spathes, to 8 in. (20 cm) tall, enclose a white, yellow, coblike spadix with tiny greenish flowers, in late winter–early spring.
Best Climates
Semi-hardy. Zones 5–9. Best in cool, moist climates.
Soil Type and Fertility
Wet to damp, well-drained humus or, in water features, shallow-depth marginal or shoreline sites. Fertility: Rich. 6.0–8.0 pH.
Where and How to Plant
Spring in full sun to partial shade, 4 ft. (1.2 m) apart, or submerged to 6 in. (15 cm). Plant 2–3-year-old plants; those grown from seed may take 6 years to bloom.
Proper Care
Easy. Keep evenly moist. Fertilize monthly until blooms fade. Propagate by division, seed.
About This Plant
Good choice for accents, backgrounds in bog, natural, woodland gardens or water feature margins and shorelines. Pest and disease resistant.