bluebell pics and hort. info

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just bluebell pictures + hort info








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Basic Horticulture - Virginia Bluebells, Mertensia virginica, are one of the very first species to emerge in spring in the Upper Midwest of the U.S.--so early, in fact, that the plants often get covered with a late snowfall. These tough, perennial woodland natives are treasured by American native plant gardeners because of their beautiful sky-blue flowers--a rare color in spring when yellow seems to be everywhere in the landscape. As spring wears on, bluebell stems gradually droop outwards and the leaves begin to yellow. By late June the mature plants have faded away and will remain dormant until next spring. This ephemeral nature makes Virginia Bluebells perfect for planting in between late-emerging shade plants such as hostas. As beloved as these shade-loving spring natives are, it's impossible to find their seed for sale in garden centers or catalogs. That's because the seeds need to be sown immediately after they are shed by the parent plant and they need to go through a winter chill period just before they sprout the following spring. You'll see plants for sale in nurseries, but since the plants die back early in the summer, the retailers cease carrying them. (Just try selling a one-gallon pot of soil, with no visible life in it, for ten dollars!)
That's a shame, really, because, as any native plant enthusiast will tell you, what lies beneath that seemingly bare pot of soil is a piece of azure blue sky just waiting to burst out the following spring--even bigger and more beautiful than it was the year before. The best bonus of all is that Virginia Bluebells will self-sow over the years. Even though it will take two to four years for your self-sown seeds to mature into blooming plants, the wait is by all means worth it. We gardeners know about patience!
When choosing a location for Virginia Bluebells, keep in mind the conditions under which they typically grow: under trees; along riverbanks; in other forested, moist areas (not swampy); along upper edges of floodplains and riverbottoms; in moist forest edges; and besides brooks and streams. They do very well in moist shade gardens filled with hostas, daffodils, bleeding hearts, and celandine poppies. In fact, most plant books repeat the mantra that they are great companions for hostas, and they are correct! Plant bluebells where they won't be disturbed or mowed until late June. This will give adult plants time to self-seed. With careful attention, you can collect their seeds and plant more colonies of these wonderful plants in other areas of your garden. Here's how.

DETAILED PROPAGATION INFORMATION FOR VIRGINIA BLUEBELLS, FROM SEED
Below is a photo of bluebells that have finished flowering. You can see the spent blossom tips where the seeds are produced (click on picture). Up to four fat, crescent-shaped seeds are produced per flower. It is from plants like these that I collect my seeds in my garden to send to you.


Directions for sowing seeds:
Clear a patch of soil in a moist shaded area. Within two or three days of receipt of your seeds, sprinkle them into that spot. The seeds need to be sown immediately, although they won't actually appear to germinate until early next spring. You can also keep them in moist sterile sand for a little while, at room temperature. Do not refrigerate.
Sow the seeds thinly (6 to12 inches apart), or else you'll feel guilty about how close they are by the second year and you will spend a lot of time transplanting, or god forbid, even plucking. I use the term feel guilty because I consider these to be so precious! You can cover them with a little bit of sand or potting soil to mark the area. Water them, cover them with a few leaves for the rest of the summer, and aside from keeping the area fairly moist, you can forget about them until autumn or early spring.***
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The tiny seedlings don't have much strength to burst through a mat of wet leaves, so be sure to rake away most of the fallen leaves in the area in late autumn or as soon as the snow melts next spring. The eagerness of the seeds to germinate as soon as the snow melts is amazing, so don't wait too long to rake your leaves!

The seedlings are easy to distinguish: the leaves have a slight bluish/purplish cast. (click on pictures to enlarge.)
You can easily transplant the seedlings while they are in this cotyledon stage. But be sure to do it as early as possible. Any disturbance later in the growing season might cause them to go prematurely dormant for the rest of the year--which is not good, of course; you want them to stay green and happy as long as possible.

You can even transplant a few into pots and coddle them through June with weak liquid fertilizer and plenty of moisture and sunshine. This additional attention might give those plants enough energy to bloom a year earlier than they normally would.
A little bluebell seedling, sporting a flag-like first true leaf, will only be about 2" high by the end of its first spring.

It will take two to three more years for your plants to bloom for the first time. If you fertilize them and keep them moist throughout their first growing season, they might flower sooner.

After mature plants have flowered, the stems begin to droop and the green leaves begin to fade. At this point the seeds will ripen quickly. Watch your plants daily at this stage. Once you notice some of the seeds darkening from green to brown or black, snip off the flower heads into a bucket to catch the seeds before they fall. Your collected seeds will separate from these cut flower heads within a few days as they begin to dry, and any seeds that were still green will mature to black as they dry.
In future years, keep an eye out in your garden each spring for stray, volunteer seedlings. Babies may show up in surprising places!

So! A Virginia Bluebell typically takes three years to bloom from seed.But, oh, those gardeners who appreciate the azure blue of these lovely North American natives don't seem to mind the wait!




*** A slightly more elaborate way to plant your bluebell seeds: Prepare a nursery.
First, rake away all mulch or leaves from a bare, level, moist area. Then lay down a single layer of newspaper and moisten it, and then spread out good, weed-free potting soil about 1" thick over the moistened paper. Sprinkle the bluebell seeds on top of the potting soil, and gently run your hand or a rake over them to bury them a bit, tamp them down lightly, and then gently sprinkle with water. Keep the area fairly moist all throughout this year and into the fall. One way to keep the area moist, and to keep weed seeds from falling on the area during the summer, is to cover with a sheet of plastic and top off with a little mulch (to keep the sun from heating it up). But be sure to remove the mulch and plastic the minute the snow melts next spring because your bluebell seeds will be eager to sprout!

PLANTING INSTRUCTIONS FOR BARE ROOT PURCHASES
I occasionally offer bare root plants at this website. Plant your bluebell roots in groups as soon as you receive them, spacing roots at about 1-2 feet apart. In a couple of years most roots will have multiple stems and you'll be glad you spaced them. If you are not sure how to orient a given root, just plant sideways and you will have good luck. Cover them so the crown is barely covered with soil. If you are planting on a hillside, I suggest you plant them at the top of the grade so that when they eventually set seed most of the seeds will be naturally deposited below the existing plants.