Thursday, May 24, 2012

Jack-in-the-Pulpit, False Solomon's Seal

 The Jack-in-the-pulpit is an interesting native plant with its striped capsule and curved hood.  It lives in hardwood forests and grows to a height of anywhere from 7" to 2'.  It will transplant successfully as long as you take a good chunk of soil with the bulb and plant it in loamy soil in a shady location with medium moisture. Very hardy to zone 2.







 False Solomon seal has clusters of small white flowers that later produce red berries.  It grows to about 2' high and prefers partial-shade.  It will tolerate poor soil, and it can be invasive as it spreads by underground roots. 




 True Solomon's seal has clusters of bell-shaped hanging flowers which are mildly fragrant.  Bumblebees like it.  It's a very tough plant and can handle quite a bit of sun, although it's preference is part-shade with loamy soil.  Also can be invasive.





 It makes a good groundcover for difficult areas as it can handle being quite dry.




On a hot day, it's always refreshing to see a patch of ferns.  These are possibly wood ferns, but I need to spend some time comparing them to the pictures on Ontario Ferns to get a proper identification.
All the above plants are native to  Eastern Ontario.

1 comment:

  1. Lovely photos. I've always loved the Jack in the Pulpit. Like a wild calla lily! My Solomon's Seal are huge this year. And spreading1

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