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Laportea bulbifera – bulbous nettle pack of 10 bulbils

£4.99

PACK OF 10 BULBILS
A hardy herbaceous perennial, bulbous nettle is eaten as a wild vegetable in Japan. Forms a good ground cover and likes damp shady conditions. Bulbils can be sown during autumn, winter and spring. Each bulbil will grow into a plant.

25 in stock

Description

Laportea bulbifera – bulbous nettle is a member of the Urticaceae family and is gathered in the spring and eaten as a wild vegetable in Japan.  The leaves are very nutritious and can be used like spinach. It is a hardy herbaceous perennial and as a woodland species grows best in most soil in full or part shade and will slowly make a groundcover by dropping small bulbils on the ground where they will sprout to form new plants. The bulbils develop following on from small white flowers at the leaf axils.  As the plants die back in winter, the whitish bulbils are the part that remain and these will naturally drop and root themselves or you can collect some and pot them up and watch them sprout again in spring. Height 50-150 cm. Moist but well-drained, humus rich soil in part to full shade. Very useful in a forest garden setting or a damp shady part of your garden. The large leaves pack quite a sting, so harvest with gloves and long sleeves but the sting is removed during the cooking process and you can safely eat the leaves. This pack of bulbils can be stored in the fridge in a bag with a bit of damp compost and sow in spring, or potted up now, where they will remain dormant until spring. The bulbils are hardy, but don’t let the pots get completely frozen over winter if they are outdoors ( undercover is fine) as bulbils can go mushy if subjected to multiple icy periods.

“Thanks for everything, the info sheet was great. I planted the cuttings the day they arrived and have just multi sown the 9 star in seed trays. All very exciting, we’re now planning our perennial area.”

“You are right, perennial kale is fantastic! Thanks so much for the cuttings. I am a convert to having a corner of perpetual kale in the patch!”

“As the evening sun back lit the plants at Incredible Vegetables, I felt I was standing in one of the most important gardens of our time. Wildflowers working alongside an abundance of edimentals and perennial vegetables. A ‘food glade’ to rival the aesthetic of our greatest plant designers.”

– Jon Davies, garden designer, London Glades –

“I love your website and the work you’re doing. What you’re doing is exiting, useful, and one day will help to replace and enhance what human kind has damaged.With that our natural friends will return and we’ll be better for it.”

“Mandy, thank you. I am delighted with this plant – it is so strong and healthy and exceptionally well packaged – all done with loving care obviously. I shall look forward to having more plants from you.”

“Plants all arrived lovely and are growing well. I just wanted to say i was very impressed with the quality of the cuttings.. and its been a pleasure dealing with you. And I look forward to any purchases in the future.”

“The kale cuttings you sent survived the winter and are thriving. Thank you Mandy Barber you are the super hero of edibles, loving your work!!”

“I bought some Skirret seed’s off you last year. Well they grew and yesterday some got cooked and this message is just to say, they were delicious. Looking forward to a lot more next year. Thank you.”

“The Taunton Dean cuttings arrived a short while ago and never have I seen healthier looking cuttings! They are now firmly ensconced in some nice compost and are having a good drink. I even loved the packaging, which will be composted.”

“Hi I just wanted to let you know that I sowed half of my Caucasian spinach seeds and every single one grew, absolutely amazed, thanks for the seeds and keep up the good work.”

“Just to let you know that the lovely healthy looking plants arrived. Your plants are simply outstanding, every single tuber and plant are growing amazingly.”

“The plants arrived safely, I did not expect such magnificent specimens! I didn’t think I would be successful at stratification etc but I now have a whole bunch of Hablitzia seedlings sprouting after following your excellent advice.”

“Just to say, the Daubentons Kale is in the ground and looking well – thanks to the lovely damp compost encasing its roots…you do a good job at your end, I can tell by the way you package. Will be back for more of your wonderful perennials.”

“Thank you so much for all the vegetables, they really are incredible. I’m sure I’ve never before seen a healthier rootball than the one that arrived with our happy looking daubentons kale, and seeds and tubers are thriving thanks to all the useful information provided.”

“Thank you so much for sending such wonderful, healthy and very large plants. They are beautiful !! You packaged them so well and they arrived so quickly – I couldn’t get to the post office till the following day but they were absolutely fine. They’re now potted up and sitting in my ‘cold’ greenhouse while they adjust.”

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Mandy and Julien