Six Wildflowers You Should Grow

Posted on Tuesday, May 5, 2020 · Leave a Comment 

I love wildflowers. Right now several species are blooming in my woods, and others are on their way. They are a demure smile before the serious romance of summer blossoms in the main gardens. But after winter, they are loved as much as the bodacious peonies and brilliant poppies that will come later.

 

 

White trillium or Trillium grandiflorum

One of my favorites is Trillium. That is both a scientific name and a common name, though the common wine red species, Trillium erectum, is also called Purple Trillium, Wake-robin and Stinking Benjamin. It does best in light shade and acidic soils. Its flower has three petals and stands up above the foliage. As it matures over the years, the clumps get bigger. A related species, T. grandiflorum, or white trillium is similar in looks, but with white petals that fade to pink. It’s very lovely.

 

 

Another favorite of mine is Jack-in-the Pulpit ( Arisaema triphyllum). The flower has a hood over a “preacher” that is hidden inside. It is designed so that little flies will crawl down inside the flower, pollinating it as they go. It has both male and female parts, but only one or the other are fertile at a time, to prevent self-pollination. They grow well in woodlands, in deep rich acid soil. As the plants grow older, they get larger, sometimes reaching two feet tall.

 

 

Jack in the pulpit

Hepatica is one of the earliest wildflowers to bloom in my woods. The common name, Hepatica, is also the scientific name, though there are two similar species: H. acutiloba or Sharp-lobed Hepatica, and H. americana or Round-lobed Hepatica.

 

 

Hepatica grows in light shade, and does best with a few hours of sunshine. They do best in rich, dark, humusy soil. They form tidy clumps, each about the size of a big African violet. The blossoms are numerous: an old clump in my woods has about 50 one-inch wide lavender flowers on it now, each with six petals. This plant does not spread much, so buy enough to make a statement.

 

 

Bloodroot is a beauty that spreads well by root, though is never obnoxious about it. This fabulous wildflower has blossoms similar to those on Hepatica, but bigger, and white with a yellow center. The blossoms are quite ephemeral, blooming and then littering the ground some days later with petals. The flowers close up at night (when pollinators are sleeping) or on cold, rainy days.

 

 

Bloodroot likes good drainage and more sun than most wildflowers

The leaves are dramatic. When they first appear, they are rolled up like a cigar, standing vertically in your forest duff. Later the leaves open and flatten out, getting large for a wildflower: six to eight inches wide. These persist much of the summer, creating a nice groundcover.

 

 

Bloodroot gets its name from the red liquid it oozes if you break a root. You can propagate the plant by diving roots when dormant in the fall and planting in light shade or morning sun in moist, well-drained soil.

 

 

Another of my favorites is Dutchman’s breeches ( Dicentra cucularia). This is a true spring ephemeral: it produces flowers and leaves, and then everything disappears after a few weeks until next year. It is in the same genus as Bleeding Heart, a dramatic pink or white June-blooming perennial. The flowers are white, and look like little pants hanging upside down, with several flowers on each stem.

 

 

Dutchman’s breeches

The foliage is as pretty as the flowers: it is finely cut, and reminiscent of its cousin, wild bleeding heart ( Dicentra exemia) which is sold everywhere as a shade perennial. When Dutchman’s Breeches dies back, the leaves just disappear without yellowing and lingering on, which is a nice feature. It does best in moist, rich soil in shade or part sun. The corms are tiny.

 

 

Finally, you should have some trout lily or Dog-toothed Violet ( Erythronium americanum). This diminutive plant has nice spotted leaves and spreads like a groundcover in shady, humus-rich woods. But in the wild, they bloom infrequently, and only after they have two leaves – and most of mine have just one. The flowers are yellow on 4 inch stems.

 

 

So how do you get started? Most garden centers do not sell these plants, and seeds are not readily available – and often need to be planted right after picking. You should not dig them up in the wild and doing so is prohibited in most states.

 

 

I called Barry Glick of Sunshine Farm and Gardens in Renick, West Virginia. His farm is 60 acres of flowers at 3,650 feet of elevation, so Zone 5.  He agreed to put together a package of the plants I have featured here, three plants of each, ready to go in the ground for $89.10 as a special deal for my readers. They will be shipped free by Priority Mail. E-mail him at barry@sunfarm.com for details and tell him I sent you.

 

 

In interest of full disclosure, Barry sent me a set of plants for free, but I am not profiting from his sales. The plants (or bulbs or corms without leaves) are not huge, but are 3 to 5 years old, and ready to bloom next year. They come in half gallon Ziplock bags, packed in peat moss and ready to plant. All mine looked great, and I planted them in an open woodland with rich soil.

 

 

So think about getting some wildflowers, and remember you shouldn’t just go dig them up in the wild! Wildflowers bring me great joy when they bloom, and I bet they will please you, too.

 

 

You may reach Henry at henry.homeyer@comcast.net. He is the author of 4 gardening books and is a UNH Master Gardener.

 

Filed under Article · Tagged with blood root, hepatica, Sunshine Farm and Gardens, trillium, wildflowers

7 Wildflowers You Can Grow

Recently I was asked about plants for shady places. Wildflowers, I said, are wonderful in the woods or at the edge of the woods. Most show up early, before the leaves are on the trees. They are the perfect antidote to a long winter and rainy spring. They bring color and brightness just when we need it most.

Double bloodroot

Among the early wildflowers, blood root (Sanguinaria canadensis) is one of my favorites, and it is early.  First it sends up a leaf rolled up like a cigar. Then the leaf opens to display a brilliantly white flower that is an inch or two inches across. The flowers stay closed on cool, cloudy days but open up for business when the sun comes out – and the pollinators.

If you have bloodroot in your woods and want some in your shade garden, the rhizomes (root structures) can be dug up and moved easily. But wear gloves! The roots produce a red sap which has been used for dyes, but it is highly toxic.

According to an article by Susan Mahr of the University of Wisconsin Master Gardener program, blood root sap is “an escharotic, a substance that kills tissue, and external application is a skin irritant causing severe burning pain and disfigurement.” She says to move bloodroot in mid-summer as the plants begin to go dormant, but before the leaves disappear.

A friend gave me a small clump of double bloodroot about 15 years ago, and it has spread nicely. It is a tetraploid, meaning it has double the number of chromosomes, and is sterile, making it rare and expensive. I have divided mine and now have it in several places. Each blossom looks like a tiny white peony.

Another one of my favorite wildflowers is Jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum). Some are fully up now in my woods, while others are just poking up their noses. The flower is not very flower-like. There is a purple phallic-looking projection that looks up from the center of the plant that is sheltered by an overhanging flap of leaf-like growth. The two large leaves are distinct on tall stems. It does well in rich soil and dappled shade.

I’ve had great luck planting seeds of Jack-in-the-pulpit in mid-summer. They are bright red when ripe. If you want to harvest some, wear gloves as the seeds of Jack-in-the-pulpit, like bloodroot, contain toxic chemicals. The seeds need to be cleaned by mashing the pulp and washing it away before drying and planting. If you do so, you should see germination the following spring (but it will be 2 to 3 years before you see flowers).

Both bloodroot and Jack-in-the-pulpit seeds produce eliasomes. These are organs that are attractive to ants, who drag the seeds – complete with the fleshy white eliasomes – back to their nests. The ants eat the eliasomes, then dump the seeds in an ant trash pile, where they can germinate. That way the seeds can travel some distance. Clever!

Western Trout Lily. A bulb plant that is much bigger than our native trout lily.

Trout lily or dog tooth violets (Erythronium americanum) were common in the spring woods where I grew up in Connecticut. Each plant has one or two small  canoe-shaped leaves that are spotted, like the belly of a trout. Younger plants have just one leaf and do not bloom. Mature leaves bloom now, or even earlier, with yellow lily-like blossoms with the petals and sepals bent backwards. The flowers stems grow about 6 inches tall.

Three years ago I bought bulbs for a western form of trout lily that is much more dramatic than our native one. I neglected to label the bulbs other than to say they were Erythronium. Studying examples on the web I see Erythronium grandiflorum as one possibility, or a hybrid called ‘Pagoda’. My blossoms are on 12 inch stems, and each plant produces multiple blossoms. Definitely a fine addition to my woodland garden.

Trillium is a genus (botanical group) that includes several nice, easy-to-grow wildflowers. The red or purple trillium (Trillium erectum) is also known as wake-robin or stinking Benjamin for its earthy smell. It does well in dappled shade and rich, dark soil. I also grow a white trillium (Trillium grandiflorum) that grows alongside it. The white one turns pink later in the spring. Several other species exist, and are available from nurseries and specialty nurseries on-line.

Trillium is often sold in nurseries

One of the best sources for all of these wild flowers is from The Garden in the Woods in Framingham, Massachusetts. The Garden in the Woods is a garden, education center and plant nursery run by The Native Plant Trust, formerly called the New England Wild Flower Society. They sell potted perennial wildflowers, native trees and shrubs, and much more. Now is a great time to visit them to see what you might grow in your own woods.

Henry is the author of 4 gardening books. You may e-mail him at henry.homeyer@comcast.net.

Copyright © 2014 Henry Homeyer

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