Persicaria amplexicaulis Jo and Guidos Form - Mountain Fleece

The Persicaria amplexicaulis 'Jo and Guido's Form', is a vigorous variety of smartweed with a brilliant pink flowering. On a vigorous mound of large leaves, from midsummer to autumn, rise tall spikes of beautiful size, composed of a multitude of small flowers in a bright and shiny pink that can be seen from afar. This variety forms a prolific and hardy ground cover, effective in smothering adventives in cool or even clayey soil. Give it space, a slope or the edges of a water feature, as well as robust companions that it will not suffocate.

The smartweed or Polygonum amplexicaule 'Jo and Guido's Form' is a plant in the family Polygonaceae. It is a recent horticultural selection, derived from a botanical species native to the Himalayas. This rhizomatous and semi-evergreen perennial plant forms a tuft 80-90cm (35in) tall when in flower. It spreads rather rapidly, depending on the fertility of the soil, and can form imposing clumps after several years. Particularly floriferous and colourful, this smartweed 'Jo and Guido's Form' produces slender spikes, 20 to 55 cm (8 to 22in) long, from the axils of the reddish stems, composed of a multitude of small flowers in magenta pink buds, becoming fresh pink when they open, with the throat filled with slightly prominent stamens. The flowering is continuous from July to October, if the soil does not dry out too much. The leaves, carried by sturdy stems, are wide and lanceolate, measuring 17 cm (7in) long, stem-clasping, bright green, villous on the underside, and turn purplish in autumn.

Very trendy, this pink smartweed fits well in contemporary gardens as well as in more romantic or wild settings and forms superb autumn scenes with grasses such as Miscanthus and Panicum. Thanks to its spreading habit, it can be used as a ground cover, making sure to leave it enough space. This smartweed appreciates both sun and partial shade. It likes rich and heavy soils, even very moist ones, and can be cultivated independently on sunny pond edges, along a sunken path, or in a cool and partially shaded woodland at the base of trees. Asters, Japanese anemones, and inulas are good companions for smartweeds, in the garden or in bouquets, as they also flower until autumn. Dead nettles and bergenia, equally sturdy, allow for extending the flowering periods and playing with the contrast of shapes and foliage.