Culture
Winter hardy to USDA Zone 6 where plants will thrive in rich, peaty, evenly moist, well-drained loams in full sun to part shade. Plants are considered to be hardy to 0°F. Plant tuberous roots to about 6” deep in a protected location and apply a thick winter mulch in the northern parts of the growing range in order to help protect the plant from cold winter temperatures. Plants are best sited in part shade locations. Plants greatly dislike hot direct full sun. This plant often grows well in certain moderate temperature climates along the Pacific Coast, but is difficult to grow well in most other areas of the U.S. including the St. Louis area.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Roscoea auriculata, commonly called eared roscoea or roscoea, is an erect, tuberous, rhizomatous perennial of the ginger family (Zingiberaceae) featuring 3-10 upright linear to lanceolate, dark green leaves (each to 8-10” long) and axillary, hooded, orchid-like, deep purple flowers (to 1 1/2” across) which typically bloom from late summer into fall (July to September). It typically grows to 10-22” tall. It is native to the Himalayas (Tibet, N. India, Bhutan, Nepal, and China). This plant has a complicated flower structure. Each flower has one large descending petal and several smaller petals above and alongside the main petal. Plants at first blush somewhat resemble an orchid or iris. Each flower has a tube-shaped outer calyx, three purple petals (the corolla), and four staminodes.
Genus name honors William Roscoe (1753-1831) who founded the Liverpool Botanic Garden.
Specific epithet from Latin means with an ear-shaped appendage in reference to the auriculate outgrowths which appear at the junction of the leaf blade and leaf sheath as memorialized by the sometimes used common name of eared roscoea for this plant.
Roscoea x beesiana, sometimes also designated as Roscoea ariculata ‘Beesiana’ or Roscoea ‘Beesiana’, is a plant whose botanical name is unresolved. Many experts consider this plant to be a hybrid (R. ariculata from the Himalayas and R. cautleyoides from the Yunnan-Sichuan area of China) which was developed in cultivation, but its specific origins remain unknown at this time. Other experts consider this plant to be a cultivar of R. ariculata. The name of beesiana is derived from the English plant nursery known as Bees Ltd., but there appears to be no evidence that this plant was hybridized at Bees Ltd. First mention of the name was in 1970, but the name was not formally published until 2009.
Regardless of the aforementioned problems concerning parentage and proper botanical name, ‘Beesiana’ has highly variable characteristics. Flowers are generally cream colored with varying amounts of purple. Group names are sometimes used to identify flower color forms: (1) cream group refers to flowers with little or no purple markings, (2) striped group refers to flowers with distinct stripe-like purple markings, and (3) dark group refers to flowers with almost continuous purple markings.
R. x beesiana received an Award of Garden Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society in 2011.
‘Beesiana’ appears to be an invalid cultivar name under the provisions of the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants which prohibits use of Latin words as cultivar names after 1958.
Problems
No serious insect or disease problems. Watch for slugs and snails.
Uses
Woodland margins. Woodland gardens. Beds and borders. Cottage gardens. Rock gardens. Foundations.