Tricyrtis ‘Empress’
at Digging Dog

Tricyrtis

Toad Lily

Some say this fascinating species owes its common name to the Philippine Tasaday Indians’ practice of wiping their hands with juice from the blossoms before setting out to collect frogs. Others say it’s the unusual spotted flowers that account for the name.

Whichever story is true, the blooms have such detail and quiet beauty that they should be admired close-up. They open on gently arching stems for long periods in late summer and early fall, when most other flowers are already spent. With a moist, humus-rich soil, all the Toad Lilies will form elegant clumps.

Tricyrtis ‘Empress’   

Renowned for its extra large and wider open flowers, this exquisite, newly introduced Toad Lily is a formosana hybrid. Ornate, spidery spaced petals are inscribed by occasional darkened tips and irregular velvet-rich deep purple spots, stipples and mottling on a creamy white background. An enticing fall beacon amongst the shadows, ‘Empress’s showy terminal blooms are supported by an upright robust gathering of lustrous, semi-clasping dark green foliage that stays dapper all season.

Blooms August – September.

Size: 2-1/4' high x 18" wide; hardy to zone 5.

Tricyrtis ‘Empress’ (P-1469)
Each $7.50
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Other selections in this genus

• Tricyrtis ‘Blue Wonder’
• Tricyrtis formosana ‘Samurai’
• Tricyrtis ‘Hatatogisa’
• Tricyrtis hirta ‘Moonlight’
• Tricyrtis x ‘Sinonome’