Do Animals think Virginia Bluebells are tastey?
Hooti
19 years ago
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susanswoods
19 years agobirdgardner
19 years agoRelated Discussions
Virginia Bluebells
Comments (6)I heard that you can also start them from seed, you may want to let the ones you have flower and go to seed, collect the seeds and scatter over your new area. I heard/read that the virginia bluebells don't like to be moved. I just planted some this year from root, not sure if they're going to take or not. if not, I'm just going to get some seed for next year (at the recommendation of a local perennial nursery)...See MoreWhat to interplant with Virginia Bluebells?
Comments (10)Virginia bluebells (mertensia virginica) are native to our area, they like filtered shade. Like Prubo, I passed them over this spring (at NEWFS) for other things on my wishlist. They are one of the first wildflowers to bloom in the spring, but they are considered a spring ephermal(dormant in summer). So I'm trying to figure out what to plant with them, so I won't have a bear patch when they go dormant. When I was at the Garden in the Woods (about April 20th) they were in bloom at the same time as all the different spring phlox. I love hummingbirds and whatever they like gets pushed to the top of my wishlist. I thought the blue tubular flowers looked like one they'd be interested in. However, I had never heard of them being used to attract hummingbirds. Plus it seemed like they were blooming too early. Then when I started seeing hummingbirds at my feeder, (May 4th, to be exact)I realized I had no flowers blooming for them. They showed up a lot earlier than I had anticipated. So now I'm back to my original thought of bluebells being a good nectar source for the early hummers. I did find one website about native wildflowers that considered them a hummingbird flower. So that's enough for me to decide, I have to have them! Either by sowing seed this fall, or plants in the spring. I will probably do both, because I am impatient, and this way I'll have a few blooming right away. I did find plants available now, from a company I've had a good experience with. Here is a link that might be useful: Look under Mertensia virginica...See MoreVirginia Bluebells
Comments (6)I've never been able to keep them going from commercial transplants; I think they object to being moved. Somewhere, I read a hint that virginia bluebell/mertensia seed should be planted immediately after harvesting. A few years ago, I took some stems with seed [with permission, from along a neighbor's creek] as soon as the stem appeared to be mostly dry; wrapped them in a damp paper towel for the long drive home and then planted the stems (with the seed pods attached) immediately in the shade garden. They did take 2 years to get to blooming size. Since then, they've been happy enough to bloom beautifully and multiply nicely, in spite of all the drought. Actually, they have multiplied so well that 2 years ago, I tried transplanting a few to a different area -with less than mediocre success- however, the plants which lived through the transplant did bloom this year. Both sites are in dappled shade, with many years of mulch worked into the soil. Unfortunately, they rarely get watered during droughts, but that doesn't seem to have affected them....See Moregetting transplanted Virginia Bluebells to survive
Comments (5)Even if the flowers and foliage wilt upon transplant - which is very likely - I would venture to say that, if the bulb sections are big enough, they will sprout again the following year. This is an extremely vigorous plant which will spread extensively once it gets started. I compost a goodly amount of it every spring just to keep it in check, yet I'm still inundated by it (in a good way ... sort of). If you wait too long in the spring to transplant, the above ground foliage will disappear and be difficult to find. I would wait until the flowers start to fade and do the transplant then. The foliage will probably wilt but the plants should grow and flower fine the next year. This is actually a very difficult plant to get rid of once you have it, lol....See MoreArborBluffGirl
19 years agolinda_schreiber
19 years agoMarcR
19 years agolinda_schreiber
19 years agofatso
18 years agojillmcm
18 years agooogy4plants
18 years agojillmcm
18 years ago
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