2019 April Plant of the Month
BWSR Featured Plant Name: Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica) Plant family: Borage (Boraginaceae) Virginia bluebells are among the spring ephemerals to emerge from the warmed earth, heralding the season along with chorusing frogs. Plant Stats Flowers emerge in STATEWIDE April and May, but WETLAND may bloom as late INDICATOR STATUS: FACW as June depending PRIMARY upon soil and air USES: Pollinator temperatures. The nutrition, garden common name plantings, ethnobotanical refers to the soft Virginia bluebells produce clusters of bell-shaped flowers. Egg-shaped leaves with smooth blue, bell-shaped PLANTING edges help with identification.Photo Credit: Dave Hanson METHODS: Seed, flowers, which bare root, pots Identification provide pollen Clusters of light blue or lavender Simple, alternate leaves are and nectar for queen bumblebees, flowers grow on fine stalks. pale green and egg-shaped with and nectar for early butterflies Flowers’ tubular bases end in rounded edges. Lower leaves can and moths. Primarily found in the bell-shaped cups. Pink buds have a winged stalk that attaches change color as they mature. The to the stem. Leaves grow up to 7 moist woodlands and floodplains of pale green stems are cylindrical, inches long and 3.5 inches wide. southeastern Minnesota, Virginia hairless, and sometimes taper The plant grows about 2.5 feet bluebells can bloom en masse one toward the top of the plant. tall. year, and then in small clumps the next. The plants are not long-lived Range enough to out-compete other species. Although this herbaceous The species is found in mesic to wet- mesic rich soils. It occurs in floodplains, perennial grows about 2.5 feet tall, bottomlands or deciduous woodlands foliage dies back by midsummer. with partial shade and moist soils. While constricted mostly to the southeast in Minnesota, it’s more widespread across the Lower Midwest and the Eastern United States. In Michigan it’s listed as threatened; in New Jersey it’s listed as Map Source: BONAP’s North exploitably vulnerable. American Plant Atlas
www.bwsr.state.mn.us 1 Uses Planting Recommendations With the right soil Virginia bluebells ripening or in late fall conditions, Virginia prefer rich wet-mesic – the latter allows for bluebells can to mesic soils in seed to naturally cold- form impressive light to moderate stratify over winter colonies, making shade. Plants are not — and cover lightly for an early season aggressive, but can with leaves to retain garden showpiece. form dense colonies moisture. Bare-root Flowers’ nectar over time. A good plants can be planted and pollen attract choice for low- in the spring after soil queen bumblebees maintenance gardens, temperatures rise and other larger the species will persist above 50 degrees, bees with long and compete well or in the fall before proboscis. The with other plants. the first freeze. plant has some Planting options Container plants or reported historical include seed, bare- plugs provide more use as a cough root, or container- flexibility with timing, remedy, but no grown plants. Lightly as long as the plants studied or verified Virginia bluebells can grow in clumps or in large patches. rake seed into the get enough shade and uses exist. Photo Credit: Dave Hanson soil in spring after water.
Similar Species Northern bluebells (Mertensia paniculata), grow primarily in northeastern Minnesota. Their leaves are sharply pointed; both stems and leaves are hairy; and their flowers are smaller, growing up to a half- inch long. With Virginia bluebells, the tube of the flower is longer than the bell. Above: Hairy leaves with long, pointed tips are a distinguishing feature of Northern bluebells. Right: The flowers of Northern bluebells include a tube that is smaller or equal in length to the bell. Photo Credits: Peter Dziuk of Minnesota Wildflowers
References BONAP’s North American Plant Atlas: http://bonap.net/Napa/TaxonMaps/Genus/County/Mertensia Minnesota Wildflowers:https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/flower/virginia-bluebells Illinois Wildflowers: http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/woodland/plants/bluebells.htm USDA Plants Database: https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=MEVI3 USDA Plants Database Wetland Indicator Status: https://plants.usda.gov/wetinfo.html#new_regions
Developed by Megan Benage
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