Haven't heard of it...got a pic?

Gosh, you're growing everything except wallpaper 😆
Barb

Been hardy for me,without any mulching,it spreads fast by underground runners,had go to flower only once in 4 yrs,only to have the first freeze do it under before it had a chance to even open,wish I could find a root of the larger variety.

Tetrapananx papylifera Ill post a link, has lots of synonyms. ITs what the chinese used to make their scrolls. HUGE 2 foot leaves..... Hardy to zone 7-10, some say 6...... can apparently grow into zone 5 with a good deal of multch.....

Wall paper???
Give me the genus and I'll give it a go!!LOL

So that's what it was!

I was in HD today, always tootle through the plant section 😉 to see if anything's new.
Huge leaves on some new plants in the corner.
Reminded me of Fatsia, but on steroids.
Typical stooooopid label said "tropical foliage" (really, Kermit?)

A couple of these in a greenhouse and you don't need shade cloth
😉

Barb

Jesse,
thanks for the suggestion. It wouldn't like my winds, but neither do most of my other plants. --Erik

I was looking up some information on it, and i got a link to another forum, ill find it, basicly it was a discussion as to the differences between , Tetrapananx ( regular), "Rex" and "steroidial giant" and a few others. The 2 types have deeper lobed leaves and are said to be more cold hardy, while the regular type has smaller leaves, and isnt as hardy. Ill really try to take a look for it again....

I Think i heard barbs car door slam and peel out of the driveway, headed back to HD LOL. i got the seeds from seedrack, same place you got your seeds assorted seeds

I have some seeds im going to start, see how well that goes. The rice paper plant has been in "aralia" ( currently), and" fastia", so you arent to far off... They apperantly need shade from the hottest sun during the day, and grow in shade. So eric if you have a protected shady wall, i bet you could make due, Just be careful, they can send suckers 20 feet away, and make huge thickets if left unchecked. BUt it is easy to pick up the suckers, and restrict its growth.

Mind you this is jsut from research. If you have some houseplant books, its usualy in there.

found the link]

http://growingontheedge.net/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3917&hilit=rex

Thanks for the link!
Now I just need to find a vendor....
--Erik

They apperantly can grow fast from seed. Im about to find out, im planting them tomorrow...

Jesse- Any chance of getting seeds from 'Steroidal giant'? That is one I'd like to try... I did not realize that this species was effective as a die-back perennial.
Apparently Dr. john in Washington grows this:
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/tropesque/msg0420204632643.html

I know paul!. Most people think of it as jsut a tropical plant, or houseplant, but research has proven other wise.

AFter reading that thread i posted, it seems that the regular RPP, isnt as hardy above ground but I havnt found info at all as to its hardiness below ground. There were pics I seen of steroidial giant, that apperantly took -13C, and was still standing to some degree. There was also talk about how this one guys RPP every year no matter how warm or cold it is, defoliates, while the others he has, were still green well into first frost.Tetrapan

I havnt found anyone that sells the steroidial giant seeds. I know PDN (practicaly usless for us up here) carries them, as well as the variegated form. I also didnt see any tetrapanax in Hortico....... I hope Jim sees this, I think he has a steroidial giant..

Something else ive read about it is `` if it survives its first year, its there forever". It seems to be a good contender to try and make it hardy ( like that dude with the aloe vera), it reproduces suckers like no tomorrow, and if what that aloe guy says is true, then each set of suckers should be hardier then the actual parent plant. This might explain why that one fellows initial plant dies back, but all the other ones dont ( he had 2 species and concidering this thing suckers 20 feet away, its easy to miss a sucker from that one plant and distinguish what came from what). This also explains why a plant grown in say, monacco, will not likley survive Iowa, inless it can sucker. They seem to vary greatly depending on growing conditions ( im guessing after the first winter), that single plants hardiness is set.

There was also talk of how the larger leaved versions, dont do as well in high sun and heat, due to massive moisture loss. This would explain why there more hardy, becasue thery were from higher up oni the mountains, which means cooler temps ( this is a guess)

Long story short.... Sexy plant.....

And im not sure where to get the steroidial giant seeds, or "rex" is apperantly its UK name. All the large leaved, deep lobed versions are concidered the same plant generaly ( from what ive read).

Im hoping to get some good variation out of the seedlings. Paul, even if it isnt the steroidial giant, i wont need 10 seedlings ( i got 10 seeds). If i get a decent number id gladly send you some in may when it warms up, it would look baddass naturilized in the woodlot 😈

Ya, I think I will give it a go. If it underperforms it will either be dead (my guess) or I can rip it out!

I've ordered seeds too, so we can swap if one or the other gets no germination.