GARDENING IN HARMONY WITH NATURE IN THE NORTHEAST

Spring Ephemerals

During a short window of opportunity every spring, when nighttime temperatures stay above freezing and the “lazy” canopy trees have not yet leafed out, an annual miracle repeats near the forest floor. Long-dormant Spring Ephemerals emerge from the ground, burst into a brief but dazzling bloom, display their often stunning foliage, set seed, and go dormant again.

Dutchman’s Breeches.

A great many species of Spring Ephemerals are native to the eastern deciduous forest. In the wild, most have declined precipitously due to loss of habitat, overgrazing by white-tailed deer, and unlawful collection. There is even evidence that the introduction of earthworms by the early settlers from Europe is detrimental to them: Earthworms change the soil by decomposing leaf-litter much faster than usual for the native forests in which the Spring Ephemerals have evolved. They may even eat the tiny seeds of Ephemerals like Dutchman’s Breeches.

Even though true Spring Ephemerals completely retreat underground by June, we are taking the freedom to include some borderline Spring Ephemerals here such as Bloodroot, Mayapple or Bellwort, where the leaves may linger a bit longer. These species can form very nice late-spring / early-summer groundcovers on the forest floor.

Skunk Cabbage

Not usually regarded as a Spring Ephemeral, and bold rather than dainty, the unfortunately-named Skunk Cabbage blooms an entire month earlier than other Ephemerals, when the ground may still be frozen. This swamp inhabitant is warm-blooded and literally melts the ice around it during flowering. The leaves emerge well after the huge flowers and form a carpet of green in wetlands often together with Tussock Sedge and Cinnamon Fern. This specimen thrives in a nearby swamp.

Virginia Bluebells

Virginia Bluebells are supposed to form huge carpets of blue in floodplains but we’ve only located one colony nearby in the wild, on a rather dry site. They are probably being overgrazed by deer and require some protection by fallen branches for example. In our moist woodland garden, they are thriving and slowly spreading. We have added more in areas under shrubs and understory trees, which become completely shaded in summer. Bluebells look amazing when planted in mass or in companion with Celandine Poppy.

Trout Lily

Trout Lily is growing on our site in abundance, but seems to be a tricky plant when it comes to flowering. There is an entire (clonal?) colony as evident by the mottled single leaves covering the ground, but there are hardly any blooms among them. Further down a slope this specimen (with two mottled leaves) was in bloom. The small yellow wildflowers are quite showy.

Wood Anemone and Rue Anemone

Two species of native anemones have made themselves at home in our woodland even before we arrived: Wood Anemone and Rue Anemone. Wood Anemone is a spreader and forms a small continuous colony that expands a few inches every year. Rue Anemone on the other hand has a clumping habit and spreads by seeding itself prolifically. In our area it is associated with Christmas Fern on high and sloped ground.

Rue Anemone pink variety and double-flowering cultivar ‘Cameo’

Rue Anemone has a very cute and fragile look, but is actually quite tough. There are a few interesting varieties, such as pink instead of white flowers and the double-flowering cultivar ‘Cameo’. The latter does not set seed and must be propagated by division. Notice also that the foliage of Rue Anemone emerges in an attractive brownish-red before turning green.

Sharp-Lobed Hepatica

Sharp-Lobed Hepatica, another native Anemone that we added, emerges with interesting hairy sprouts and produces small flowers that can be either white, pink, or violet. Most of ours are white, while one of them exhibits a pinkish hue. The leaves follow after the flowers and have (you guessed it) pointed tips. We also added a close relative (Round-Lobed Hepatica) but don’t have much experience with it yet.

Bloodroot

If we had to name a single favorite Spring Ephemeral, it would be Bloodroot (see the image at the top of the section). Bloodroot exhibits a beautiful big white flower with yellow center that lasts for a brief week, but the real stunner, which makes it so garden worthy, is its single leaf. Before and during flowering, the leaf folds around the flower stem as if the bloodroot was wearing a coat. Once flowering is done, the leaf opens and shows it’s unique deeply lobed shape. The leaf keeps growing bigger as the season progresses, eventually reaching the size of an adult hand before going dormant. When propagated by cutting up the rhizomes, the bloody sap giving the plant its name can be appreciated.

Bloodroot “Multiplex”

Bloodroot “Multiplex”, a cultivated double-flowering form of Bloodroot is worth mentioning in it’s own right. It’s dense pure white flowers are a real show-stopper, and since it is not fertile, the flowers last 2 instead of 1 week. If you can find Bloodroot Multiplex at a nursery, get one! It is probably outrageously expensive, but on the other hand, it roughly doubles the number of flowers every year just like the regular Bloodroot, and we intend to divide ours ever 4-5 years to eventually form a nice colony.

Twinleaf

Twinleaf or Jeffersonia (after the third president and author of the Declaration of Independence, who cultivated them at his home in Monticello), has a habit very similar to Bloodroot. It’s flowers are even more ephemeral, lasting a single day, and it’s outstanding leaves have two deeply divided lobes, thus “twin”leaf. We admire two aspects of this plant: The way it emerges from the ground in early spring, and the way the huge seed-pods are displayed above the showy big leaves in late spring and early summer. Leaves may linger into the fall.

Trillium

Trilliums may be the quintessential Spring Ephemerals. There are 39 native Trillium species in the USA (35 of them in the east) and they display all kinds of colors and sizes. In nurseries they are often hard to come by because it takes up to 7 years from seed to flowering. In our garden White and Red Trillium are doing fine in an area where we planted them without much competition. White Trillium has the biggest flowers, Red Trillium’s flowers are nicely nodding, and Yellow Trillium sports interesting spotted leaves. We are also giving the tiny Dwarf Wakerobin and Sessile Trillium a try.

Bellwort

Large-Flower Bellwort or Merrybells definitely grow on people over time. Even though an impressive 1′ to 2′ tall, they are often overlooked by the novice due to their pale foliage and flower color and their drooping habit. Interesting leaves appear to be pierced through by the stem. When the flowers are gone, the stems become more erect and the plant starts to resemble Solomon’s Seal. Foliage persists a little longer than in other Spring Ephemerals. We recently added two relatives: Perfoliate Bellwort and Sessile-Leaf Bellwort. Both are smaller than Large-Flower Bellwort. Perfoliate Bellwort exhibits leaves that are even more obviously pierced by the stem. Sessile-Leaf Bellwort does not have the bushy behavior or the other two.

Mayapple

Mayapples can form large clonal colonies that stand 1.5 foot tall on the forest floor where happy. The leaves are umbrella-like and a single flower develops under the umbrella, often completely obstructed from view. Later in the season a 1-inch diameter fruit (the apple) develops, which is eaten by turtles who also disperse the seed. Visitors, especially children, love to search for the interesting flower and fruit of this wonderful plant.