One Year Biennial

Typically, a biennial plant needs two years to produce a flowering specimen.  In its first year, seeds germinate and a low cluster of leaves follow.  The next year taller growth appears with flowers displayed.  Cardinal Flower has found a way to cram that growth habit into one year.  After flowering in late summer, the mature plant completely dies.  Up to six daughter plants begin their growth around the base of the dead plant.  These low plants appear to grow under the snow.  The following spring the tall stalks will begin to grow with flowers to follow.  This plant is perennial in effect since there is no year without blossoms but no part of the original plant is seen in the second year.

Several hurdles must be cleared for these tender green plants to survive.  Frost can be a real killer.  We frequently experience early warm days with temperatures approaching sixty degrees.  Then the wind shifts to the north bringing a hard freeze.  If these tender plants experience moderate temperatures following snow melt, their leaves seem to become more frost tolerant but an early frost can be a real killer.

The first picture shows the present condition of a cluster of plants in our garden.  A loose mulch of chrysanthemum stems covered these plants following snow melt.  Many frost damaged leaves are evident but some of these plants will recover and flower this year.  Overcrowding is the result of each plant replacing itself with up to six new plants following each year's growth.

Our habit is to remove a cluster of plants from the ground just as soon as possible.  This year ice crystals remained in the ground as we tenderly pulled these plants apart.  This tray of transplants was watered regularly and carried into the basement when frost threatened.  The ground hugging cluster of overwintered leaves can still be seen but the vertical stems that will produce flowers are rapidly growing.  Little imagination is required to see the promise of huge clusters of brilliant red colored flowers later this year.  Our primary purpose in potting up this native treasure is to insure that frost will not completely remove this plant from our gardens.  Age is slowing me down.  Four trays of transplants filled the top of this wall last year.  This year we are down to one.