Bottle Gentians

[McDonough]

My bottle gentians (G. clausa), in both the white and purple-blue forms, are budding up getting ready to bloom. Just as a test, last autumn I sowed a flat with seed collected from my G. clausa alba, and they came up thickly this spring.  Here's a view of the seed flat back in mid July 2011.

[Lori S.]

Excellent germination! 

[Hoy]

And not only germination - but you have managed to grow the seedlings afterwards!
I have often gotten good germination with Gentian seed but always failed in growing them on. Two years ago I sowed G purpurea seed in situ and now I have several small plants

[McDonough]

Some aspects of my white Gentiana clausa this season.  The plant has grown vigorously, and each stem produced multiple whorls (2-3) of bloom (verticillasters, a type of fascicle).  Difficult to photograph well with my phone-camera, the color is fairly true except the ones showing a bluish cast (there is no blue, just pure white with the apex a yellowish green).  I must say, I like the white form better than the purple blue ones.

[Hoy]

They look great Mark! I have had a preference for blue gentians but in this dull weather we have had for weeks now I realize white flowers do a better show!
Disappointingly slugs like the bottles .. I mean the flowers too

[McDonough]

(note: message edited to reflect corrections)

Trond, here's a couple of blue bottle gentions, Gentiana clausa on the left photographed today in my garden, a seedling collected at a boat-launch along the Nashua River, it flowered this year while still quite small, at about 6" tall.  The second photo is from The Garden In The Woods (display garden of the New England Wildflower Society), which I thought to be G. clausa, is most likely G. saponaria with tall reclining stems about 2' long.

 

[Hoy]

Thanks, Mark. Is yours a different blue or is it just the picture? If G clausa gets 2' tall then it isn't easily swamped by neighbours - maybe a plant worth trying here!

[Lis Allison]

Trond, here's a couple of blue Gentiana clausa photographed today, the one on the left is in my garden, a seedling collected at a boat-launch along the Nashua River, it flowered this year while still quite small, at about 6" tall.  The second photo is from The Garden In The Woods, the display garden of the New England Wildflower Society, tall and reclining, stems about 2' long.

Are we sure these are G. clausa? The one from Garden In The Woods looks more like G. andrewsii. The two are very similar, but G. andrewsii has little white tufty tips to the 'bottles'. Or are both called G. clausa now? I have G. andrewsii here and it is indeed a fine garden plant. If if gets enough moisture, it doesn't flop. It can handle sun, again if it gets enough moisture. One of my favourite native plants!

[McDonough]

Are we sure these are G. clausa? The one from Garden In The Woods looks more like G. andrewsii. The two are very similar, but G. andrewsii has little white tufty tips to the 'bottles'. Or are both called G. clausa now? I have G. andrewsii here and it is indeed a fine garden plant. If if gets enough moisture, it doesn't flop. It can handle sun, again if it gets enough moisture. One of my favourite native plants!

Lis, you are probably right... I jumped to a conclusion that the one from Garden In The Woods was G. clausa, when I look back at this thread you posted a lovely photo of G. saponaria that does show those tiny fringy things at the top of each bottle bloom (although a fairly subtle differentiation). These two species seem too closely defined!  I edited my post above to reflect the correction, thank you.

[McDonough]

Finally got around to dividing and planting out my seedling flat of Gentiana clausa alba.  The seedlings had grown in so thickly, that I simply separated them into "plugs", then planted them around the garden and watered them in.  Now, if the only the squirrels were not so tempted to bury their stupid acorns where the ground is softest; in newly planted areas.  Notice the front-center portion of the seedlings have been grazed by a small slug, rare in my dryish garden, but we've had so much rain this summer and fall.

[Hoy]

Finally got around to dividing and planting out my seedling flat of Gentiana clausa alba.  The seedlings had grown in so thickly, that I simply separated them into "plugs", then planted them around the garden and watered them in.  Now, if the only the squirrels were not so tempted to bury their stupid acorns where the ground is softest; in newly planted areas.  Notice the front-center portion of the seedlings have been grazed by a small slug, rare in my dryish garden, but we've had so much rain this summer and fall.

In my garden that is what had been left (at most).

[McDonough]

Does anyone know or grow either of these two native USA gentians... they look closely allied to other bottle gentiana species.  I found a Flickr photo of G. decora that sings to me; would love to find seed of these:

Gentiana decora
http://www.flickr.com/photos/alan_cressler/3965187010/in/photostream/
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=GEDE3&photoID=gede3_1h.jpg

Gentiana villosa
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=GEVI5
http://plants.usda.gov/java/largeImage?imageID=gevi5_001_ahp.tif

[McDonough]

Cleaning up today, 11-15-2011, removing leaves and cutting stems off perennials, Gentiana clausa 'Alba' is sprouting like crazy with short asparagus-like basal shoots; I cut off 5 large flowering stems from this season, and there are 14 new shoots, and additional shoots showing up several inches away, implying some stoloniferous behavior.  I plan on spreading leaves around the shoots for winter protection.

[IMYoung]

Cleaning up today, 11-15-2011, removing leaves and cutting stems off perennials, Gentiana clausa 'Alba' is sprouting like crazy with short asparagus-like basal shoots; I cut off 5 large flowering stems from this season, and there are 14 new shoots, and additional shoots showing up several inches away, implying some stoloniferous behavior.  I plan on spreading leaves around the shoots for winter protection.

Those shoots are very promising... but, also, I would guess  (they remind me of  yummy fresh asparagus shoots!)  they might be tempting not only to a passing slug, but aslso to hose furrytailed rats that you are bemoaning elsewhere inthis forum?  Is there not a real danger that these shoots will prove an irresistable snack for some critter or other over the winter?
I think that such shoots are targeted here by mice as well as slugs and snails.

[McDonough]

Fortunately not much of a slug problem here, even in a wet year, and I've never found a snail on my property. Squirrels don't seem to munch on plants that I know of (with the exception of occasional crocus flowers), their damage is almost entirely driven by acorn-lust and associated digging activity.  Squirrels do of course go for seed, pods, and nuts of most any variety.  In winter, mice are the primary cause of plant and shoot damage, have had my share of losses over the years from winter-active mice under a mantle of icy snow.

The shoots do look like little asparagus spears