DISPORUM (Dispor'um)

DESCRIPTION: Disporums (Fairy Bells or Fairy Lanterns) are perennials from North America and Japan. D. smithii is a spreading plant with oval to lance-shaped, mid-green leaves, which are heart-shaped at the base. The small, drooping flowers are tubular-bell-shaped. They are produced singly or in terminal clusters of 2 to 6, in the spring. They are white tipped with green. The flowers are followed by oval, orange-red berries. This plant grows from 12 to 14 inches high with a spread of 2 feet or more. It is found in the warmer parts of North America. D. sessile var. variegatum grows up to 18 inches high with a spread of 12 inches or more. Its oval-lance-shaped leaves are green striped unevenly with white. In the spring, it produces flowers resembling those of D. smithii.

POTTING: Fairy Bells prefer soil that is cool, moist and peaty or woodsy, in a position with partial shade.

PROPAGATION: Seeds may be sown in the fall as soon as they are ripe, or they may be divided before new growth begins in the spring.

VARIETIES: D. smithii; D. sessile var. variegatum; D. Hookeri; D. lanuginosum; D. maculatum; D. oreganum; D. trachycarpum.

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