Uvularia grandiflora Tried and True Native Plant Selections Large-flowered Bellwort for the Mid-Atlantic
When planted en masse, graceful, nodding flowers create a lovely visage when they peek from under foliage, which also is attractive, especially to white-tailed deer. Even if deer are not a bother, foliage may disappear as temperatures heat up. Depending on where it grows, this native perennial* may act like an ephemeral and enter early dormancy.
Perennial Flowers En Masse** and Close-up
Height: 1½–2 feet
Spread: 1–1½ feet
Bloom Color: Yellow
Characteristics
Clump-forming, herbaceous perennial
Lance-shaped, parallel-veined, bright green, perfoliate leaves with fine white hairs underneath Dainty, 1–2-inch-long, nodding, yellow flowers with a somewhat twisted, bell-shape that bloom for about two weeks April to May
3-cell seed capsules with rounded lobes and tip
Sometimes forms colonies by rhizomes
Attributes
Tolerates dry soil and drought; no serious pests or diseases though slugs may attack new growth
Deer frequently severely damage foliage
Ethnobotanic uses; rhizome edible when cooked
Attracts bees (bumble, mason, Halictid, Andrenid)
Growing and Maintenance Tips Excellent Replacement for
Soil Requirements: Well-drained, average Alliaria petiolata - Garlic Mustard
Light Requirements: Partial Shade, Shade Ficaria verna - Fig Buttercup
Water Requirements: Moist Ornithogalum species - Star of Bethlehem
Easy-to-grow, low maintenance
In hot weather may display foliage die-back and dormancy characteristic of ephemerals
Use en masse in woodland gardens, shade *It is native in five MD counties (including Montgomery and Prince borders, and naturalized setting George’s) and mostly in PA’s southwest corner. In VA it is common in the mountains north to Rockingham County and infrequent in the southwest Piedmont. It is not native to NoVA or DC. Hardiness: USDA Zones 4–9 **Top image with Viola in foreground.
developed by Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia, serving Arlington and Alexandria Images by Mary Free, Quarry Shade Garden
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