Re: Got the Blues

[Hoy]

Pretty blue, this one. Is it as blue as the bluest gentians?

[Booker]

It is a very good blue Trond, but certainly can't compare to say Gentiana verna.

[Hoy]

No,I thought so, Cliff. But Aquilegia einseleana is a good one.

Not many blue flowers here, the best at this time is Hydrangea serrulata which flowers from July and onwards.

[Harold Peachey]

The prettiest wildflower in these parts
Gentianopsis crinita

[Booker]

Oh my, Harold ... that is a gem!

[McDonough]

The prettiest wildflower in these parts
Gentianopsis crinita

Harold, superb photo!  Is this growing nearby someplace in upper state New York, or in your garden?  There is a small nature preserve nearby in town, right on the New Hampshire border, where this beautiful biennial can be viewed in moist meadows.  I wonder if it is flowering this year given our localized drought in this area.  Some sites still list it as Gentiana crinita, so look for it under that name too.  In New Hampshire, as in several other states, the Fringed Gentian on State Threatened plant lists.

Some links:

USDA Plant Profile page for Gentianopsis crinita
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=GECR2

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gentiana_crinita

Good photos here at Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=GECR2

[Harold Peachey]

These plants are in my garden, grown from seed saved each year originally from Nasami Farm where I talked Bill Cullina into sharing some seedlings with a propagation workshop.  I have seen them in Western Massachusetts at the Williamstown preserve growing in a calcareous seep

[Harold Peachey]

Aconitum uncinatum

[Lori S.]

That's very nice, Peachy.  How tall does it get?

Does Gentianopsis critina - which is gorgeous indeed! - need a lot of water, in your experience?

[Harold Peachey]

The A. uncinatum, native to southeast US grows about six feet and requires other plants for support-as shown it is growing under a large Walnut tree and is leaning on some native hydrangea.  G. crinita seems to do well in average garden soil, in my case neutral to mildly alkaline, with good water holding capacity, no extra watering required, it is, of course, biennial.