Garden Notes

Virginia bluebells blooming happily in hosta garden under the crabapple trees

I have a large Virginia bluebell colony in my garden that began with few small plants a friend gave me from her yard. I think they are one of the prettiest spring perennials native to North America. The bluebell flowers start out as pink buds and then open to a darker bluish hue that becomes lighter with maturity so you can have a variety of colors on the same plant. Flowering starts in early to mid-spring and continues until early to mid-summer depending upon your growing environment and rainfall. Actual bloom time lasts 3-4 weeks. I have a lot of my Virginia bluebells planted in the hosta bed and by the time the hosta plants emerge, the bluebells are nearly finished and are beginning to go dormant. This creates  a smooth transition from spring to summer.

Virginia bluebells can grow to a height of 18 to 24 inches. They make a nice statement in the spring garden and even work well as a background planting behind other spring flowers. They do however, need well-drained soil because too much water can kill this plant. They are tolerant of varied growing conditions, but once established, they do not like being disturbed because the root system has a long tap root. Propagation of Virginia bluebells can be done by seed or by division. If you decide to divide your plant, the best time is in very early spring or in October when the plant is dormant.

Planting Tips

Virginia bluebells prefer light shade in moist wooded areas with rich well-drained soil, so they are perfect in a yard shaded with trees. They are great for naturalizing, can grow in most gardens and often form colonies. Lastly, they are classified as ephemeral perennials which means that shortly after blooming, the foliage begins to die down. By June Virginia bluebells are completely dormant and they disappear until the next spring opening up space in the garden for other plants. To me, that is one of their best qualities.