Wildflower Wednesday: Phacelia bipinnatifida and Love at First Sight

 It really was love at first sight.  

Who could resist the lavender-blue flowers with deeply divided, mottled fern-like leaves that bloom in early spring and attracts bees? Those leaves alone are worth having in your garden. They have lighter, grayish-green, or silvery, watermark-like blotches and can develop a purple tinge in late fall/winter. 

My little naturalized colony at its best

It's been so long ago that I can't remember when I added Phacelia bipinnatifida to the garden but, I remember quite clearly the first time I saw a naturally occurring colony on a shady damp hillside. I was going to visit a new friend's garden and was driving up her steep drive, as I turned a bend in the drive every where I looked Purple Phacelia was blooming and bees were dancing from flower to flower. There's something splendid about natives that mass naturally, and this was a dazzling and magical pollinator show.

My little Phacelia colony waxes and wanes from year to year. Purple phacelia/Phacelia bipinnatifida is a biennial wildflower in the Hydrophyllaceae (Waterleaf) family that is native to the southeast USA. Biennials require two growing seasons to complete their life-cycle. The first year is vegetative growth; the second year, they flower and produce seed and shortly after, they die. They're usually quite prolific and will set seed, but, you'll only have flowers every other year. If you want to have blooms every year, you've got to put a little bit of effort into making that happen.

 

Let's get more detailed about what that effort looks like.

When you are trying to get a biennial established it's important to remember: One year from seed, second year to flower, then it dies. To have flowers every year you have to get a colony started, so you need seeds, first year plants and flowering plants. I really was lucky to be given several plants in bloom and many first year seedlings. Here's how it works! Those first flowers were visited by Bumble bees and other pollinators and got fertilized, they set seed and then died. The fallen seeds germinated and over wintered; the following spring the original first year seedlings bloomed and their flowers were fertilized, set seed, and then died. It's not a complicated process, but it's a brilliant cycle that continues to this day.  

 

I make sure the cycle is not interrupted. Which means that I collect the seeds, and sprinkle them where I want new plants, sometimes I move the tiny seedlings, the first year plants and even the second year plants in late winter to make the colony larger. They always seem to survive!

 

If you're lucky it forms self seeding colonies that are simply stunning. 

 As all gardeners know, some years are better then others and this is a lean year. Lean because we've had a several years of low rainfall right when the seeds need moisture to germinate. I've watered enough so that I have flowers every year, but, I will be doubling my efforts this year to reinvigorate my little colony. To insure  the  colony will make it through the deluge/drought pattern Middle Tennessee has settled into, I'll hand water them during the severely dry times.

Bees and other pollinators that are out and about on warm days love Phacelia. It has wildlife value and supports  the following specialized bees: Andrena (Micrandrena) lamelliterga, Andrena (Euandrena) phaceliae, Hoplitis (Robertsonella) simplex.

tightly coiled inflorescence in bud

I am honestly not disappointed that it's a lean year. Especially when I see proof that it's  providing for a lot of early spring visitors. I don't have hillsides of Phacelia, that requires much moister soil than I can give it, but, where it's blooming it shines. 

 

 To successfully grow our Wildflower star give it part-shade, shade, moisture, (it can take some dryness) in acid, neutral, average loam. It won't turn it's noise up at rich moist, well draining soil! 

 There are a few online nurseries that sell Purple Phacelia just do a web search. Or if you're lucky and can find a friend with seedlings to share, you can start your own journey to having a colony of flowers that pollinators adore. I hope that post like this open eyes to the beauty of Phacelia. 

 

 The Particulars

 Botanical name: Phacelia  bipinnatifida

Common names: Purple Phacelia, Fernleaf Phacelia, Fernleaf Scorpion Weed, Spotted Phacelia, Loose-flowered Phacelia

Family: Hydrophyllaceae (Waterleaf) family, also sometimes classified in Borage family

Life Cycle: Biennial

Distribution: AL , AR , GA , IA , IL , IN , KY , MD , MO , MS , NC , OH , PA , SC , TN , VA , WV

USDA Plant Hardiness Zone: 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b  

Height: 1 ft. 0 in. - 3 ft. 0 in. 

Width: 1 ft. 0 in. - 3 ft. 0 in. 

Light: Dappled Sunlight (Shade through upper canopy all day) Deep shade (Less than 2 hours to no direct sunlight) Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours) Full sun if mesic soil.

Soil:  Adaptable-clay, shallow rocky, loamy, sandy and/or high organic matter. PH acidic and neutral. Moisture-well draining and moist  

Flower description: Racemes of 4-12 blue to purple flowers are produced from March through April/May. Individual flowers are 1/2 inch across cup shaped with 5-lobed corolla, 5 sepals, 5 stamens, a slender style, and an ovary. The racemes occur at the top of stems with some secondary ones forming in the axils of the upper stems.  

Color: Blue/Purple/Lavender  

Bloom Time: Spring. March in middle Tennessee.

Propagation: I collect seed by placing a tray with potting soil under the blooming flower. I let most self sow. Seeds ripen shortly after blooming. I let natural rain fall water the seeds and they germinate when temperatures cool in the fall and through the winter. I usually don't notice seedlings until March. Some folks say that the seed needs to be sown fresh, but I am going to try to collect it and place in the refrigerator to see if it will grow when sown later.

 

Surface sowing is always successful and in my garden fallen leaves don't seem to keep them from germinating, so prehaps light isn;t a requirement.

Wildlife Value:  Phacelia support the following specialized bees: Andrena (Micrandrena) lamelliterga, Andrena (Euandrena) phaceliae, Hoplitis (Robertsonella) simplex.
   
Comments: Deer and bunny safe. This is a plant that should be in every shady garden. Find a friend who will share a few seedlings. Phacelia bipinnatifida should be allowed plenty of room in a naturalistic, woodland setting to move around as it wishes. If you want to maintain it in precise spots, transplant seedlings in the fall to preferred locations. 

My thoughts: When it comes to wildflowers almost all the attention centers on perennials. They're marvelous investment plants that you can count on to make a good show in your garden year after year, but, you might want to consider adding a few annuals and biennials that are native to your part of the garden world. They're charming plants and add another dimension to the garden~many of the seedlings and first year plant's foliage is quite attractive. (Gardeners, Do Yourself A Big Favor)

Thanks for reading! xoxogail


 

Welcome to Clay and Limestone and Wildflower Wednesday.  This day is about sharing wildflowers and other native plants no matter where one gardens~the UK, tropical Florida, Europe, Australia, Africa, South America, India or the coldest reaches of Canada. It doesn't matter if we sometimes share the same plants. How they grow and thrive in your garden is what matters most.

 

 Gail Eichelberger is a gardener, Tennessee Naturalist and nature writer in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

Wildflower Wednesday: Blephilia subnuda

 Cumberland Pagoda plant is our May Wildflower Wednesday star and not only is it lovely to look at, it's a favorite of the bumbles that live in the garden. If only it were more available to we native plant aficionados.

B subnuda with Christmas fern, Hydrangea arborescens, Heuchera and Phacelia

Blephilia, the pagoda plant or wood mint, is a genus of three species of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae. They are all herbaceous plants native to eastern North America. Blephilia are most often found in open areas, glades, and mesic forests. All species are considered threatened or endangered in some states. The genus includes only perennial species that spread by both seeds and through stem division. Small white to purple-lavender flowers occur in inflorescences that cluster in the upper leaf axils, often in several circular layers (hence the common name pagoda-plant). Leaves are generally lanceolate to ovate and vary in shades of green. Leaves are either petiolate or subsessile (depending on the species). Like many other members of the subtribe Menthinae, all parts of Blephilia are highly aromatic when crushed and have smells similar to menthol and spearmint.  (source)

mint family characteristics

 A really rare Blephilia

 Blephelia subnuda/Smooth Woodmint/Cumberland Pagoda-plant/Cumberland Woodmint has a rare presence in the southeast. Plants have been found in rocky limestone forests within the Cumberland Plateau region of northeastern Alabama and Tennessee. Richard W Simmers and Robert Kral collected specimens in 1983 and described and compared them to B ciliata and B hirsuta in an article in Rhodora the Journal of the New England Botanical Club (1992).

UNC Herbarium

Other than the article mentioned above there is little written about B subnuda. I am not sure why, unless its similarity to the others two Blephilias makes it uninteresting to botanists. Another question I have and wish I could find an answer to is this one: "Why is this plant so rare, when others in its genera aren't?" We know that it's vulnerable to damage from logging, but, whether it's naturally rare or has been affected by habitat loss remains an unknown. So someone, please research this!

 Downy woodmint not so rare

Downy woodmint is found in most eastern US states

Blepilia ciliata/Downy woodmint (photo above) was here at Clay and Limestone long before there was a garden. It's a more intense purple then B subnuda, which is more white with purple spots. B subnuda's  leaves are smooth and lack hairs. Both attract bumbles in my garden and I am glad to have them. Both like the neutral clay soil over limestone and are doing well in the semi-shade.

Blephilia subnuda at Clay and Limestone

Terri Barnes of Growild Native Plant Nursery introduced me to smooth woodmint (another common name) and I've been pleased with how well it does in my garden. I got two quart sized containers and planted them along the stone path to the front garden. They're growing happily beneath Hydrangea arborecens and Hydrangea quercifolia. They're cavorting with Christmas ferns, Heuchera, Trillium, Carex,  Scutellaria, Phacelia and wild ginger.

I want more!

 

 

 

 

A good looking plant

B subnuda is a beautiful flowering plant with upright unbranched reddish stems. The toothed foliage is lance shaped/ oblong and opposite along the stems. Leaves and stems are faintly aromatic when crushed and hairless. In late spring and summer, dense whorls of clustered flowers encircle the stems for about a month. The tiny individual flowers are two lipped and white to pinkish with purple spots.

 

Terri Barne's private garden

This needs to be in more gardens! Contact Terri Barnes of Growild Native Plant Nursery to see when it might be available. Trust me, you will love it and so will your pollinators.

xoxogail

 

The Particulars 

Botanical name: Blephilia subnuda

Family: Lamiaceae

Common Names: Smooth Woodmint, Cumberland Pagoda-plant, Cumberland Woodmint 

Range: Rocky limestone forests within the Cumberland Plateau region of northeastern Alabama and Tennessee.

Duration: Perennial 

Habit: Herb 

Size: To about 2 feet in height.

Leaf Arrangement: Opposite 

Leaf: Simple/Compound:,Perianth Absent  

Flower: In late spring and summer, dense whorls of clustered flowers encircle the stems for about a month. The tiny individual flowers are two lipped and white with purple spots.

Fruit Color: none

Bloom Color: White, pinkish, purple

 Bloom Time: May, June (late spring)

Bloom Notes: Flowers white with purple spots on the lower lip.

Maintenance: Easy peasy once established. Good drainage is helpful.

Comments: On the endangered plant list in TN

Not browsed by dear or other herbivores (so far)  

Value:  This is a good choice for a pollinator garden, wildlife garden, prairie garden, rock gardens, Butterfly garden, water wise gardens, or, in a meadow. If you're patient it will eventually make a lovely ground cover. 

Source

COMPANION  PLANTS:  You can pair it with other plants that enjoy similar cultural requirements, like Aster laevis, Phlox pilosa, Coreopsis tripteris, Solidago nemoralis, Bouteloua curtipendula, Sorghastrum nutans or Schizachyrium scoparium. In semi-shade it's planted with Christmas ferns, Heuchera, Trillium, Carex,  Scutellaria, Phacelia and wild ginger.

 

UNC Herbarium

 

Welcome to Clay and Limestone and Wildflower Wednesday.  This day is about sharing wildflowers and other native plants no matter where one gardens~the UK, tropical Florida, Europe, Australia, Africa, South America, India or the coldest reaches of Canada. It doesn't matter if we sometimes share the same plants. How they grow and thrive in your garden is what matters most.

 

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

 

Wildflower Wednesday: Dirca palustris

The small bell-shaped pale lemon-yellow flowers of Dirca palustris are in bloom today. The flowers with their long bright yellow stamens bloom in clusters along the branches before the leaves emerge.

What a lovely surprise for a late winter day.

small carpenter bee on flower

Dirca palustris is an early blooming deciduous native shrub. It can be found in rich, moist, neutral soil in woodlands scattered (meaning uncommon) over much of eastern North America. The small yellow flowers first appear in late winter and continue into early spring just in time for small bees to stop by for nectar and pollen.

If Lindera benzoin (Spicebush) is happy in your garden conditions, then, so will Leatherwood. They may be found near one another in woodlands and forest settings. They also share similar characteristics: bloom time, yellow flower color, leaf shape, blooming in deep shade, red fruit and lovely yellow fall leaf color. They're both blooming in my garden right now and make those shady spots pop with their yellow flowers.

In the annals of underused/under appreciated native shrubs Leatherwood could be the poster child. I love this accurate quote from Dirr's:

"A great restrained, dapper, shade-loving shrub that simply cannot find its way out of the shadows into commerce."

It's always a shock to me that many of our lovely native perennials and shrubs receive relatively little attention in the nursery and landscape trade despite their many attractive features. Dirca palustris should be at every Independent Garden Center. Researchers suggests that its slow growth and the uncertainty about how well it might be be produced asexually has slowed industry interest.

I think that we wildflower/native plant aficionados could make a difference for these orphaned natives. We can start with requesting natives at our garden centers and we can stop purchasing the same old-same old exotics that don't add wildlife value to our gardens.

We must be the squeaky wheel for natives!

Where did I get mine? It was a gift from a good friend. I was thrilled to get it and planted it in a shady spot (built up over time from leaf mold) that has good soil that doesn't turn to concrete in the heat of the summer. It's underplanted with Phacelia bipinnatifida and Hydrophyllum macropyllum. Consider planting Trout lilies, Virginia bluebells and other moisture and shade tolerant natives under the Leatherwood.

Gardeners don't dispair! You, too, can find this delightful little beauty for your garden. Local gardeners can find in at Growild Nursery. It's also available online from Prairie Moon Nursery and Mail Order Natives (good reviews).

The Particulars

Dirca palustris
Common Name: Leatherwood
Origin of common name: According to several sources the common name refers to the soft leathery, pliable, yet still very strong stems that are flexible enough to be tied into a knot and not break. The bark is fibrous and can be peeled off in strips and woven into twine.
Type: Deciduous shrub, a forest understory beauty
Family: Thymelaeaceae (Daphnes are also in this family)
Native Range: Eastern North America (Source)

Zone: 3 to 9
Height: 4.00 to 6.00 feet
Spread: 4.00 to 6.00 feet
Bloom Time: March to April (February in my middle Tennessee garden)
Bloom: Pale lemon yellow with bright yellow stamens
Leaf: Elliptic to obovate leaves (to 3-4" long) emerge yellow-green in spring, mature to medium green in summer and turn a pleasant bright yellow in fall.
Bark: Leathery with extremely pliable twigs
Sun: Part shade to full shade
Water: Medium
Soil: Neutral, calcareous and acid soils. Moisture may be more important than the soil.
Pollination: The flowers have both male and female organs and are pollinated by insects.
Propagation: Seed dispersing birds and mammals (frugivorous)
Faunal associations: Small to medium sized bees: little carpenter bees (Ceratina spp.), cuckoo bees (Nomada cuneata), mason bees (Osmia lignaria), Halictid bees (Augochlora pura, Lasioglossum spp.), plasterer bees (Colletes inaequalis), and Andrenid bees (Andrena rugosa).Source: Illinois Wildflowers
Maintenance: Low, if planted in the right spot otherwise keep soil moist
Interesting notes: Often found growing near Spicebush. Contact with the bark of Dirca palustris has been know to cause dermatitis; redness and blistering in some people.
Suggested Use: Woodland garden, specimen plant
Deer and bunnies seem to avoid it, possibly toxic.

Welcome to Wildflower Wednesday and thank you for stopping by to see/meet Dirca palustris, our Wildflower Wednesday star. In a shady garden like mine, the shrub layer is just as significant to wildlife as the herbaceous level, so, shrubs and even understory trees are going to be an occasional star. Leatherwood is a sweet native shrub that has been under-appreciated for too long. I hope that giving it the attention it deserves will help.  Thanks also, for joining in and if you are new to Wildflower Wednesday, it's about sharing and celebrating wildflowers from all over this great big, beautiful world. Join us on the fourth Wednesday of each month. Remember, it doesn't matter if your wildflower is in bloom or not and, it doesn't matter if we all share the same plants. Please leave a comment when you add your url to Mr Linky.

xoxogail



Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

Wildflower Wednesday: False Solomon's Seal

Maianthemum racemosum (Smilacina racemosa) is the star of April's Wildflower Wednesday.

False Solomon's Seal is a colonizer that spreads very slowly, so gardeners, we don't have to worry that it will crowd out our beloved Spring ephemerals like other colonizing natives have been known to do. I find it makes a charming ground cover beneath understory trees in a woodland garden. In my garden it mingles with Golden ragwort, Christmas ferns and Purple phacelia. It likes rich, loamy woodland soil, but, is tolerant of both moist and dry conditions.

I am very fond of it and appreciate that it is attractive in the garden from early spring to winter frost.

crooked arching stems and large leaves of early spring are attention grabbers

The crooked arching stems and large leaves of early spring are attention grabbers, but soon the white flowers take center stage.

 Each plant produces a plume of slightly fragrant snow-white flowers with creamy or pale yellow stamen tips in April in my Middle Tennessee garden (Zone 6b/7a)

The plume might have up to 80 star shaped flowers that are pollinated by small bees, flies, and beetles. The bees collect nectar and pollen from the flowers, while flies and beetles feed on the pollen. Crab spiders and ambush bugs hang out on the flowering plumes, just waiting for a small bee or beetle to stop by.

crab spider hiding on flowering plume

It's not always easy to watch the little pollinators get grabbed by a predator, but, that happens in a wildlife friendly garden. Those predators are soon preyed upon by larger spiders and birds and those birds could be  dinner for a hawk...But, I digress! Which is very easy to do when you begin talking about gardening for wildlife.

Berries are starting to form

All those busy little bees, flies and beetles pollinate the flowers and soon greenish berries follow. They'll continue to swell and darken over the summer. 

Fruit is a cluster of waxy berries, each 1/8 inch across, that turn bright red when ripe

 By August they are a delightful mottled red. The color show doesn't stop there, the berries turn a dark cherry red when ripe and look stellar against the fading and browning foliage.

Photo by Vick, Albert F. W. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

The ripe berries are eaten by woodland birds and mice. It's thought that a trip through the digestive tract of a critter helps the seeds germinate, it is also a good way for seeds to be dispersed around the garden. Deer don't seem to browse them, but, they are hidden beneath the understory trees. In this case, Rusty Blackhaw and a fall blooming witch hazel.

False Solomon's Seal has been used medicinally to treat coughs, but, I don't harvest them. The flowers and color show feed my soul and the berries feed the resident critters.

The Particulars
Maianthemum racemosum  (Smilacina racemosa)
Commonly known as False Solomon's Seal
Family:  Asparagaceae no longer a Lily family member
USDA Zones: 3-8
Native range: Entire North American continent
Plant Spacing: 18-24"
 Exposure: Full Sun/Part Shade/ Shade
Soil Moisture:  Wet-Mesic/ Mesic (Medium)/Dry-Mesic  Dry
Height: 2 feet
Bloom Color: White  with golden yellow stamens
Bloom Time: April/May/June
Plant Type: Wildflowers (Forbs)
Beneficial: A pollen and nectar food for bees, beetles, flies. A seed food for rodents and songbirds
Availability: Is available online~ seeds, plants and roots. Locally: GroWild
Comments: Love it used as a ground cover in wildflower/naturalistic gardens, plant with Solomon's Seal, Christmas ferns, wild ginger and Golden ragwort. Best in naturalized plantings, wild gardens, native plant gardens, or woodland gardens. But seriously, use it however you want, after all, it's your garden.

xoxogail

Welcome to Clay and Limestone and Wildflower Wednesday. This day is about sharing wildflowers and other native plants no matter where one gardens~the UK, tropical Florida, Europe, Australia, Africa, South America, India or the coldest reaches of Canada. It doesn't matter if we sometimes share the same plants, how they grow and thrive in your garden is what matters most.

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

The thing about biennials

Biennials require two growing seasons to complete their life-cycle. The first year is vegetative growth; the second year, they flower and produce seed and shortly after, they die. They're usually quite prolific and will set seed well, but, you'll only have flowers every other year. If you want to have blooms every year, you've got to put a little bit of effort into making that happen.

My favorite native biennial is Phacelia bipinnatifida.

Purple phacelia/Phacelia bipinnatifida is one of my favorite spring flowers and it happens to be a biennial. I fell in love with it about 20 years ago and have worked to make sure it thrives in my garden. It's a pretty ground cover when it colonizes and it has good wildlife value (provides nectar and pollen for the earliest pollinators).

You can have a yearly blooming colony.

It's an excellent pollen and nectar source for early pollinating visitors. 

The easiest way is to find a source of first year seedlings and/or second year plants of the biennial of your choice. That's not always possible with underused natives like Phacelia bipinnatifida. Sometimes native plant nurseries sell annuals and biennials, but, most of the time you'll have to start with seeds. (Locals, you can call GroWild to see if they still have plants available otherwise, check the internet for seeds). 

If you only have one flowering plant you can still have blooms every year, it will just take a few years. It will take a little bit longer if you start with seeds.


The process:

First Spring with your biennial.  If you have a second year plant, it will bloom! Collect mature seeds (on my Phacelia it's when the ovoid capsules are ready to split), save some (Cleaned seeds should be stored dry in sealed, refrigerated containers) and direct sow others. Biennials reproduce through seeds.

If you're starting with seeds, sow them now! The seeds will germinate early the next spring, here in Middle Tennessee that often means in late February.

first leaves and true leaves

Second Spring: Seedlings will be everywhere you sowed them (cotyledons of Phacelia bipinnatifida are oval) and will rosette up (pinnately divided leaves) as the growing season continues! You can transplant them anytime, but I like to wait until fall when the rains and cool weather return.  

Now is the time to sow those seeds you saved last spring! Direct sow them into the garden and gently press the seeds into the soil. I promise you they will germinate if you've chosen the right spot in your garden. Phacelia likes moister conditions, so I plant them where I know they'll thrive.

 first year seedlings with pinnately divided leaves November 2015

Third Spring: You should now have first and second year plants and be on your way to having a wonderful yearly show! Continue to collect seeds for sowing wherever in your garden that your biennial will be happy or let them drop onto the soil where they've been growing. Continue transplanting first year rosettes during the fall.

This is what you can expect every Spring. Aren't they lovely!

They take a little bit of effort, but the results are very satisfying! 
xoxogail

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.