Miscellaneous Woodlanders

[cohan]

A lovely plant, Gerrit, not native here, but we have M paniculata, a very common wild plant here, but one which I love--it can form very nice full stands, and there are a number of them on my property, as well as roadsides and open woods throughout the area.. I doubt it is much grown in gardens, but if it wasn't native to my land, I'd surely plant it ! There are nice alpine species as well, for those with less space!
two shots from 'wild' places on the farm,

 

And a nice clump under a spruce tree (dry place!!) where we store our lawnmower! year before this patch was even more impressive...

[Hoy]

This is Mertensia virginica. A plant native in the USA. In my part of the world  seldom seen in culture. I wonder if you regard this plant as special, or regard it as almost weed. I understand one won't grow a plant in his garden, while it grows in everybody's garden.
Myself I like it very much, because of it's color,a deep, heavenly blue.

Gerrit, I would love to grow M virginica and have tried to establish it several times but the slug think I plant them for their sake and devour the plants almost before I have left the site.

[Tony Willis]

not sure if these qualify as woodlanders but here is Meconopsis punicea flowering for me now. In the main picture the one second from the left is clearly a hybrid

[Hoy]

not sure if these qualify as woodlanders but here is Meconopsis punicea flowering for me now. In the main picture the one second from the left is clearly a hybrid

Pretty plants! I have tried to establish M punicea here for years but without success so far.....

[RickR]

Mertensia virginica (Virginia Bluebells) is fairly common among shade gardeners here, although fairly difficult to find in nurseries.   It is well loved, and though it is native in Minnesota, it is only abundant in the very southeast portion of the state.  Some gardeners find it a bit weedy, but easy to control, while most are delighted with the gentle self seeding.  Two State parks are especially famous for their natural ephemeral wildflowers, and each have quarter acre areas of mostly Virginia bluebells, with Erythronium spp., Enemion (Isopyrum) biternatum, Thalictrum spp., Asarum canadense, Uvularia grandiflora, etc.  They are truly a sight to see.

Mertensia paniculata grows in the northern half of Minnesota, and I grew a plant at my parents (along with Mertensia virginca) for many years when I was growing up. Some years after I moved out, my brother (the machinist turned self proclaimed naturalist) destroyed it while it was dormant, replacing it with Wild Ginger.     Our form has a much more metalic blue color that practically sparkles, rather than your matte baby blue, Cohan.  The shape is more rigid and regular, too.

[Lori S.]

not sure if these qualify as woodlanders but here is Meconopsis punicea flowering for me now.

Wow, most enviable, Tony!  Meconopsis tend to need special conditions to survive here in "The Big High and Dry" (as I've seen it described by a local gardening writer  )  any more than a season or two... which I'm much too lazy to provide...

This is Mertensia virginica. A plant native in the USA. In my part of the world  seldom seen in culture. I wonder if you regard this plant as special, or regard it as almost weed.

Definitely special!  (And I rigorously distinguish native plants from weeds, as well.  Having said that, it just depends on the native plant's habits, and how well I can grow it, as to whether I keep it in the garden.)

Both the natural areas and your sadly-missed planting sound wonderful, Rick.

I loving seeing our native M. paniculata also.  I find it rather spready in the garden... given that I don't have unlimited space, I think I will be pulling a few more offshoots out next year.

I like Mertensia ciliata in the garden, and have lots these days from seeding... and please correct me (always) if I'm misidentifying this!... not native here, but no doubt a locally-native plant for someone on this forum.   One strange thing... these used to go dormant for me after the spring bloom, but have ceased doing that in the last 3 years or so ( ), and in fact, get lax and floppy enough that I cut them back.
The emerging foliage is a gorgeous dusky purple-green, as shown in this older photo (the foliage was barely breaking the ground on the most precocious plant last weekend, before the latest snow).  Here are also photos of it in bloom.
     

[stephenb]

I've also been growing Mertensia ciliata for a number of years, at least that's what I got it as (I'm adding a few pictures). I have it in a fairly open sunny location and perhaps because of that it looks taller than Lori's plant. I also cut it right back as it falls over. I'm looking forward to comparing with M. paniculata which I planted out last year (from seed that Cohan kindly sent).

[cohan]

not sure if these qualify as woodlanders but here is Meconopsis punicea flowering for me now. In the main picture the one second from the left is clearly a hybrid

Wonderful colour! Is this the mature form of the flower? Very interesting... Does the species name refers to pomegranates, presumably for the colour?

[Tony Willis]

not sure if these qualify as woodlanders but here is Meconopsis punicea flowering for me now. In the main picture the one second from the left is clearly a hybrid

Wonderful colour! Is this the mature form of the flower? Very interesting... Does the species name refers to pomegranates, presumably for the colour?

My understanding is the word relates to red which is also the colour of pomegranates but there are numerous other plants with it in their name

[Lori S.]

Yes, according to the site below, "puniceus" is purple, red, or reddish:
http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/Latin/

[cohan]

M ciliata seems nice.. there are several species  on Alplains' list I am thinking about .. I'd want something quite distinct from paniculata, since there is so much of that here! Lori, I wonder if ciliata has not gone dormant the last two years since we didn't have summer? and the year before that was record rainfall, though warm, here, not sure about Calgary..
BTW, I wonder if paniculata would be considered ephemeral in a longer/hotter summer? By the time they are dying down here, summer is over anyway!

[RickR]

BTW, I wonder if paniculata would be considered ephemeral in a longer/hotter summer? By the time they are dying down here, summer is over anyway!

I've never noticed if M. paniculata goes summer dormant in Northern Minnesota.  I haven't traversed areas where it is at that time of year.  While it did go dormant near St. Paul, MN (southcentral MN), I am not sure if it was because of the heat or the dry.  It was planted on an oak forested hillside with a gravel/sand subsoil.

[Lori S.]

I don't find that M. paniculata goes dormant here in the garden, and where it grows in natural spots along the bike path, I think I see it all through the summer too - there, it's on a shaded steep slope that has many springs.  I'll have to pay more attention this year to confirm that.

As I think about it, it was probably a lot more than 3 years ago that M. ciliata stopped going dormant in my yard... I can't think of any particular weather pattern that coincided.  It's strange, anyway.

[gerrit]

Mertensia virginica (Virginia Bluebells) is fairly common among shade gardeners here, although fairly difficult to find in nurseries.   It is well loved, and though it is native in Minnesota, it is only abundant in the very southeast portion of the state.  Some gardeners find it a bit weedy, but easy to control, while most are delighted with the gentle self seeding.  Two State parks are especially famous for their natural ephemeral wildflowers, and each have quarter acre areas of mostly Virginia bluebells, with Erythronium spp., Enemion (Isopyrum) biternatum, Thalictrum spp., Asarum canadense, Uvularia grandiflora, etc.  They are truly a sight to see.

Mertensia paniculata grows in the northern half of Minnesota, and I grew a plant at my parents (along with Mertensia virginca) for many years when I was growing up. Some years after I moved out, my brother (the machinist turned self proclaimed naturalist) destroyed it while it was dormant, replacing it with Wild Ginger.     Our form has a much more metalic blue color that practically sparkles, rather than your matte baby blue, Cohan.  The shape is more rigid and regular, too.

This was a very interesting discussing about Mertensia. Thank all authors. By the way: Rick, did you forgive your brother?


Gerrit

[cohan]

I don't find that M. paniculata goes dormant here in the garden, and where it grows in natural spots along the bike path, I think I see it all through the summer too - there, it's on a shaded steep slope that has many springs.  I'll have to pay more attention this year to confirm that.

M paniculata grows in sunny, shady, wet and dry places here; none of them go dormant before fall frosts, but summer is so short I hardly think it counts...lol.. I can't think offhand of any native plants in my area that go dormant before summer is over.. why would they?..lol