Solomon’s Seal.

P. falcatum 'Variegatum' with Dicentra spectabilis 'Alba'

P. hybridum The Latin name for Solomon’s seal is which means ‘many-kneed’, probably because it has curious knobbly . It is supposed to have got its vernacular name because of the seal- like marks on its roots. Another theory is that it is called this because of its healing properties and ability to seal up broken bones. It was used as a remedy for bruises too. Gerrard wrote in his famous Herbal: “The root of Solomon’s Seale stamped while it is fresh and greene, and applied, taketh away in one night, or two at the most, any bruise, blacke or blew spots gotten by fals or womens wilfulnesse, in stumbling upon their hasty husbands fists, or such like.” Today of course we grow it for its grace and beauty. The most commonly grown one used to be which is still available in some nurseries. The one to look out for now though is Polygonatum x hybridum which is a slightly more robust ; it is a cross between P. multiflorum and P. odoratum. Polygonatum x hybridum has tall, arching stems with pairs of tubular green-tipped bells. They are lovely for a shady area and make large clumps if they are left undisturbed. Christopher Lloyd suggested growing this plant with lilies-of-the-valley which at the same time and echo on a lower level their bell-like . I think the dangling white flowers look lovely with Dicentra spectabilis ‘Alba’ which is the white form of the Bleeding Heart. Ferns and hostas and epimediums look good with it, and also the delicate, primrose bell shaped flowers of Uvularia grandiflora. There are many of Solomon’s Seal to choose from as it hybridises

P x hybridum 'Striatum' freely. There is a double one, Polygonatum odoratum ‘Flore Pleno’, but I don’t think it has the charm or grace of the single one. There is a red stemmed one; Polygonatum ‘Red Stem’ which is very striking. The creamy variegated Polygonatum hybridum ‘ Striatum’ looks lovely with hostas and the white flowers of Epimedium x youngianum ‘Niveum’. It is not very vigorous, probably because it is so strongly variegated. Slugs love it. A stronger growing variegated one is the Japanese Polygonatum falcatum ‘Variegatum’. This has red stems and delicately edged with cream. A very choice new Polygonatum from Germany is the dark, chocolate red leaved Polygonatum x 'Betberg’. This looks lovely with pink lily-of the-valley and ferns. P x hybridum 'Betberg' These are wonderful for a woodland setting. In autumn the leaves turn buttery yellow. They can be grown from seed from the black berries, or division of the rhizomes. The only pest they seem to suffer from is the sawfly, (Phymatocera aterrima). The large black flies of this pest lay their eggs on the underside of the leaves so you don’t spot them until the caterpillars have hatched out and munched their way through all the leaves and completely defoliated your plants. The adult fly makes slits in the leaves and inserts the eggs. The pests can be controlled with Bayer’s Provado, or if your clump is not too big you can keep an eye on the underside of the leaves and pick any caterpillars off by hand. This is my preferred method. Provado is effective but it contains imidacloprid which has been suggested as a possible contributory factor in the disastrous reduction in number of honeybees.

P. falcatum 'Variegatum' with Hosta 'White Feather'

Liz Wells