This rhizomatous perennial (closely related to our own native cuckooflower) always takes me by surprise when its fresh bright foliage appears in February.
The attractive leaves are five lobed and toothed, and they set off to perfection the mass of pinky purple flowers which can appear at any time during March. These are always a hugely welcome sight as most other perennials are still well below ground and the garden is a little low on colour at this time of the year.
It grows happily in part or full shade, damp or dry, and is best in an informal, wild or woodland setting where it mixes brilliantly with Pulmonaria ‘Blue Ensign’, arums and hellebores.
C quinquefolia is certainly a spreader, but a gentle one, and it has the big advantage of being summer dormant so that no sooner have the flowers faded away, than so too does the foliage, leaving opportunities for later perennials that enjoy similar conditions: plants such as hostas, tricyrtis, ferns and epimedium spring to mind.
More, almost, than any other, this pretty little flower marks the end of winter and heralds the arrival of spring.
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4 replies on “Cardamine quinquefolia”
Love the look of C quinquefolia but would worry about it spreading. Can snowdrops and other spring flowers compete with it? Thanks, Triona
Hello Triona – if you’re worried about it spreading (which it undoubtedly does) then I’d certainly hesitate to put it anywhere where you have ‘treasures’. Of course it will behave differently in every different situation but plants like hostas, epimedium, hellebores and common snowdrops should be able to cope. It makes a beautiful carpet under shrubs. Hope this helps – Louise
please tell us how to clear an unsuccessful area where I tried to have a wild flower garden.
I Started 4years ago, it was a failed site of veggie garden so no grass! Each year it has looked worse, flowers overtaken by campions, brown head and planctaine so in the autumn we round upped the whole thing .Various dead clumps need digging out but I am now trying to hoe the moss off the surface and presume I will have to loosen the top soil before May in readiness for the wild flower mixes??Anything else?!
Hello Jane, Laura here, it sounds like you are doing everything right so far. Your site sounds very similar to the site that I to grow my pictorial meadows on each year, and yes, you will need to tickle up the top surface a couple of weeks before sowing, allow the weed seeds in the top layer to germinate, then choose a hot day to gently hoe them out so you have a clean start for your meadow seeds. The fact that you have moss growing on it makes me wonder if it is a shady site, so maybe you need to look for a seed mix designed for less sunny areas? This video I made may help illustrate the soil preparation needed for a meadow – if the link doesn’t work you’ll find the video on the3growbags YouTube channel entitled ‘How to sow a Pictorial Meadow’ https://youtu.be/QDJZOxIy0fw?si=Slrp3HQTt06BxY3h
Hope this is helpful and good luck with the project. Best wishes Laura