Eranthis hyemalis |
Origin: Southern Europe
Zone Range: 4-8
Preferred Situation: Semi sun; well draining average soil.
Harvest Date: Saturday 15 September, 2007
Description:
The cheery yellow cupped flowers of this low groundcover are always a welcome sight in late winter. One of the few plants with vibrantly alive foliage poking through a thin snow layer...and with flowers...what more can a colour starved northern gardener want. By May, the plants have set seed and are going dormant. Prefers semi sun under shrubs and leggy bushes. Can kinda grow in rock garden but the growth cycle of plants growing in such conditions is brief compared to semi sun areas with moisture retentive soil.
Notes:
Naturalizes well. Some people consider it invasive, but in my opinion its growth period is so brief it can hardly out compete/strangle out other plants.
Cultivation:
Seed quickly loses viability when stored dry. Will be given warm stratification at 20 C as a germination pretreatment. Upon receiving, place seed in resealable baggie of moist peat and germinate at 4-7C. Check baggie often as seeds may begin to sprout at 40 days but a good majority should have germinated by the 65th day. Prick out seedlings as you see them and transplant into a deep enough container(s) to accomidate deep rootlets that will eventually form a bulb. Grows best in a cool environment of 8-10C with indirect light.
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