PlantFiles: Giant Rhubarb, Giant Gunnera, Dinosaur Food
Gunnera manicata

Not giving up, giving in for I'm going to try it again!

2005 I ordered 'great gunnera' from eBurgess's catalog. The ad. showed an amazing large, exotic looking shrubby plant for folliage. It's listed for zone 7-8, and I live right in the midle of this 2 zones. Well, I failed. First I tried in a Big pot with lots of water; (this time the bulb was quite big; that of a big elephant-ear tuber) the young leaves sprouted, but promptly turned black and withered. So, I rescued to a boggy area, and the bulb-like Great Gunnera was GREAT no longer: it rotted. Now that the grievant process of its loss is subsided. I decided that it's time to try this again. Yesterday my 'bulb' arrived from Inter-State-Nurseries the size is small about that of large egg. I'll keep the bulb/tuber in the dard and do more research before I plant this 'little, big gunnera.

This is my second year for my Gunnera in San Antonio. It is such a magnificent plant. The more water the better. It did well in the shade even when hot.

My wife and I are looking at getting one of these babies for a raised bed that we have next to a water feature in our backyard. Even though this plant thrives off of super moist soil, I heard from a local nursery that it does fine in moderately dry well drained soil as well. Does anybody out there have any experiences to back that up?

I'm extremely excited about my new Gunnera. I just don't know why it's leaves are turning brown. I bought it 3 weeks ago with a tiny leaf and now it's growing quickly but the biggest leaf is dying as is the one in the picture I posted. The tiny new leaf also has brown/black dry edges. What am I doing wrong?

I have it in potting soil which one site said is a no-no. They said it'll make the roots rot but most of you seem to say the more water the better. Any suggestions???
PS. It quadrupled in size in 1 week. It's a fun plant!

Despite what the label might say, most of the plants offered as G. manicata in the U.S. turn out to be G. tinctoria. The second photo from the top submitted by arsenic shows the inflorescence of true G. manicata. Compare it to the inflorescence picture by KMAC which is of G. tinctoria. Note that the inflorescence branches of manicata are longer, thinner and stay green, whereas those of G. tinctoria are shorter and thicker and take on a rusty brown hue.

I saw this plant in Harrogate, Yorkshire, UK, growing alongside streams and other bodies of water. It was HUGE--some of the clumps must have been 8 feet high by 12 feet across!

Hi. Pictures of this plan have always fascinated me, so after a lot of searching, I found one. I planted it on the northwest corner of the house in a bed... not near water. It is now October and it has grown to about 5' tall. It has long stems and the leaves are about as big as a meat platter. It probably would have done a lot more for me, but I really forgot about it (I have so much stuff!!). It has grown in the back of the bed, and it looks pretty happy, but it just is not big. I am going to dig it up and bring it inside, I guess, for the winter. Does anyone have a better idea for it? Do you think if I just mulch it it will be okay? I'd rather leave it outside if it will not die.

Thanks for any comments you might have for me.

This plant needs lots of water as it loves to be in a bog garden. Large green leaves resemble sand paper. Can grow very big when it becomes old. pokerboy.

I live in Oregon and was given one of these awesome plants as a gift. I have no problems with it as long as I give it LOTS of water. The friend who gave it to me told me to take the cone off before the 1st freeze, put it in a pot with potting soil and let it sit over the winter. By spring I should have new plants. This however, did not work for me. Anyone know if this is accurate and what I may have done wrong? My poor cousin is dying for a start! :) Thanks.

We recently rescued a Gunnera that had been on a hillside without enough water for several years. Before that it had been lovingly watered and pampered by the previous owner for almost 10 years. The corm had 5 arms and was approximately 4 feet from tip to tip. We had to chop it into 6 sections to remove. The largest took two people to lift. The smallest was a little smaller than a bowling ball.

Right now all the pieces are planted alongside our creek at varying levels of moisture. We are hoping most of the pieces survive and shade the water to make it more hospitable for the salmon smolts. If they do well we're going to have the coolest looking swamp in Columbia County.

It moved from Vanouver Wash, to Scappoose Oregon.

There are superb specimens at RHS Wisley (UK)

Planted in the Everett, Washington area about 3 years back. It consistently grows to over 12 feet with leaves 5.5 feet across adjacent to a lined fish pond but planted in hard pan. Amazing growth never seems to stop. I cut everything down at first freeze and mulch with its leaves and those giant flower pods. Does anyone know any practical uses for this plant? Any hazards? Quite a conversation piece and transplants easily.

I hate to say my experience was all positive with this plant since I simply can't grow it here in the heat of So Cal... but if babied along and kept moist, it does survive here. However I love this plant. It can be massive. I saw one in Vancouver that was way over my head. It has very rough and scratchy leaves that can almost take your skin off. Not a plant for a small garden, either. But impressive when done right.

I saw gunnera leaves being used to wrap and cook food in Guatemala. Apparently the leaves are not toxic, but they are not really palatable.

The most fantastic planting of Gunnera : see Strybing Arboretum, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. Around a pond, and in a shaded bog they grow to a fantastic size and produce many flower spikes and seeds. Many leaves 6' across.

I started growing Giant gunneras a few years ago. The original soil was potting soil and fairly dry... The plant never did well in the ground or in a pot... Did a little reseach and found that the plant lives natively in a bog setting. Since the plant is a tuber, much like a rhubarb, I "tore" off a chunk of root and planted in in a pot with a mixture of50% peat and 50% potting soil. Placed the 2 gallon pot with soil and root into a fish pond so that the bottom six inches of the pot was submerged and let it go... The plant went crazy!! Shot up giant leaves like it was going out of style! Happiest little gunnera on the block. ;)