Seeds can be sown outdoors in the late fall to satisfy cold period required for spring germination. The papery lanterns make wonderful dried flower arrangements. It comes two weeks after Chinese New Year’s Day, which the first day of the 15-day Spring Festival celebration period. Broadcast seed on top of soil and lightly cover with dome or plastic film until emergence. Chinese lanterns are perfect for providing autumn interest in well-drained areas of the garden. The Chinese Lantern festival, or yuánxio jié () falls on the 15th day of the first lunar month. The berry inside its orange-red husks is decidedly NOT edible.

The fruit contains twice the amount of Vitamin C as that in lemons and looks like a blonde-red cherry tomato with a sweeter taste relative to the. Mature Chinese Lantern fruits look quite a bit like an orangish-red version of tomatillos, but beware, despite their close relationship to tomatillos and groundcherries, like many members of the nightshade family, some or all of the Chinese Lantern Plant is poisonous. The fruit should not be eaten until fully ripened, and the foliage. Physalis has a drier texture and a distinctive flavor unlike tomato. Chinese lantern plant is also considered a toxic plant. Allow the soil around your Chinese lantern plant to dry between watering. The fruit expands inside a green and purple bladder-like calyx that looks like a small Chinese lantern hanging from the stem. Place several seeds in a pot or in the ground (if you dare), in regular garden soil. (4-5 weeks of refrigeration.) Start indoors 6-8 weeks before the last frost date. To really contain Chinese lantern flower, plant them in a container. Chinese lanterns are also known by several other common names, such as bladder cherry, Japanese lantern, strawberry groundcherry, devils berry, or winter. Planting Instructions: R equires cold stratification before seeding.

The fruit is tasteless and it should be noted that the unripe fruit and leaves are toxic if enough is ingested. Physalis is a close relative of the Cape Gooseberry but is not cultivated as a food crop. This plant spreads underground by rhizomes and should be contained in certain situations. In Japan, the seeds are used during the Bon Festival as offerings to guide the souls of the deceased. There is high value for this dried species in fall displays.

Chinese Lantern (Physalis alkekengi) This herbaceous perennial grows into compact bushes with dense foliage and inedible, tomato-like fruits that form inside symbolic orange and red, papery coverings resembling opaque lanterns.

Chinese lantern fruits