PlantFiles: Kiss Me Over The Garden Gate
Persicaria orientalis

I'll just add another positive to this lovely plant. The blossoms have a gentle yet delightful fragrance that is carried in the air when a warm wind blows.

Started growing this in a food bank garden 10 years ago to draw the eye. It is a spectacular display for back drop or above a fence. A fun plant to watch grow; it's little collars, the flower presentation, the flowers and seeds side by side and of course it's size. It volunteers and is easily pulled where not wanted. Transplants without missing a beat with a little B-1 drink. This fall I shook the clusters of flower chains into a large tub for seed just before the first strong storm. What a crop! The better the location (sun) and soil, the larger and more dramatic the plant. But in my shady home garden scraped sub-soil, it still reaches 6 feet with just drinks of weed tea. This is a great plant. Try it, you'll like it!

I think this plant is a beauty. Wonderful to see the tall willowy stems loaded with pink blossoms swaying in the wind.

I never had any luck starting them from seed because I didn't realize they had to go through a cold period. My suggestion to anyone sharing seed is to make sure you mark that on the packet or send them already chilled.

I also grow a variegated variety of this plant. It is a bit shorter and has a softer pink blossom. The leaves have lots of white on them, and are extremely soft .... like Lambs ear. I've never seen seed available commercially for this variety, but you can buy seedlings.

Luther Burbank Garden in Santa Rosa, CA has a 10ft. specimen in full bloom.

Seed requires cold treatment to germinate. If someone gives you seed, just leave it outside in the shed overwinter.

An older friend gave me this seed and said it grew in his grandma's garden. He called it Lady Finger. It reseeds itself profusely! It can be a problem because every seed seems to germinate--any place it falls. It is showy, a good backdrop for shorter plants and also makes shade where needed. It does pull easily when young. My farmer husband thinks it is a giant smartweed and is afraid it will get loose in his fields.

Its a very sturdy plant and I have had it get 6 feet tall plus. Its not hardy in zone 4 but it does reseed itself very plentiful. Its bloom time is usually late late summer. I really like this plant as a back ground plant,hanging over my 5 foot fence.

This is a tall annual knotweed that was an old-fashioned favorite in cottage gardens. Its thick sturdy stems can grow up to 5 feet or even taller in rich soil. The beady, rose-colored flowers are born on drooping panicles and last well until frost. It makes an attractive backdrop behind shorter plants.