A More Natural Setting

Cardinal Flower is a native plant that does not grow freely in our area.  North or south of  the Southern Tier of New York, this plant flourishes but here it is rarely seen in the wild.  Despite the low chances of success, we continue to search for a wild location that will meet the needs of this treasure.  The time between initial snow melt and somewhat stable temperatures is when this plant dies out.  A naturally protected location is what we are searching for.

Here at the base of a north facing slope, snow melt comes later than nearby places.  Additionally, water drains down the hill and is trapped by the nearby road to our gravel bank.  Cardinal Flower needs generous amounts of moisture in addition to protection from early hard frosts.  Last year ten of our potted plants were set out in this wild ground.  A generous mulch of fallen tree leaves was placed to try to limit the growth of undesirable weeds.  All ten plants survived.

What actually survived was the new growth that appears in the fall as the flowering stem dies.  Under the best conditions, six new daughter plants will appear long before snow season.  These evergreen young plants will flower the following summer if all goes well.

This photo taken in August shows the beauty of Cardinal Flower.  A single blossom consists of three downward pointing petals with two additional ones spread upward looking like wings.  A white beard tops a tubular structure that leads to the ovary where seeds may form.  Hummingbirds find these flowers irresistible and visit them often even while we are working close by.  It is not uncommon for a hummingbird to momentarily hover close to Becky's face as if thanking her for providing these flowers.

Seeds formed and dropped last year will not germinate on this moist ground until the soil has warmed.  It may be as late as July before the from seed basal rosettes are seen.  They look much like the new growth seen in the first picture.  That is the form that they will take into winter.  If this year's new growth is killed by frost, there is still the possibility that from seed new plants will survive next winter.  Even with two different methods of providing for the next generation, this plant remains uncommon here.

These blades of green new growth may belong to another native treasure Blue Flag.  If that is the case these two plants will look good together.  It is possible that what is actually here may prove to be Yellow Flag.  If that is the case our removal efforts will focus on both the Yellow Flag and the Garlic Mustard.  Neither of these highly invasive aliens will be allowed to grow freely here.  In the long run both will likely survive but it will not be because we did not try to end them.

Spring Run

Finally enough snow has cleared the lane to make a walk across it possible.  Snow still covered the ground here when the series of four northeasters passed close by us.  Snow covering the Cardinal Flowers protected them from damage when the weather turned bitterly cold.  This is the first time that these have been fully exposed this year.  Ice still partially covered them at the end of February before new snow buried them again.

When this area was found last spring, damp soil was apparent but running water was absent.  Piled stones suggested that in the past the farmer's children has created a dam to form a pool.  At that time I had yet to see running water here.  Today the flow had enough strength to make ripples on the surface as it tumbled over a crack in the dam.

Running water has opened up a fair sized channel as it drains into a small automobile sized depression.  No water runs out of that pool.  It all disappears into the deep gravel deposit that underlays the meadow.

This is the present condition of the daughter plants that formed around the base of each flowering stem.  Under ideal conditions, six sister plants will surround the remains of the stalk.  Generous growth creates a bit of a jumble so I cannot be certain of just how many plants are here.  They will be left as they are since we are looking for wild plants here.  Each plant will send up a single flowering stalk so we can count the number of plants here then.  No actions will be taken to cover these plants when hard frost threatens since we need to know if native growth is possible in this location.  If these plants are ended, we will still have a chance at plants from seed.  Their flowers will be one year away but at least they will have a chance.  Does my excitement show?

Sisters Or Seed

Cardinal Flower has been a prime focus here recently.  How a native plant that is described as hardy to zone 3 can freeze out frequently here in what is now described as zone 5 is a frustrating puzzle.  Late winter hard freezes are the problem.

The first picture shows several sister plants growing around the base of a single stalk that flowered this year.  The single spent stalk marks this plant as a transplant that was set out in the spring.  If these young plants survive, each will send up its lone stalk that will produce flowers.  The resulting cluster of flowers will create an impressive display.  These plants are positioned so that a covering bucket can protect them from late frosts while doing no damage to adjacent plants.

This jumble contains perhaps seven stalks that flowered this season.  Since a single plant can result in six daughter plants, there may be as many as forty-two new plants growing here.  Overcrowding is the obvious result and if left alone next year's plants can not all survive here.  These plants will be transferred to pots just as soon as the soil is workable next spring.  Fall transplants always frost heave and die.  This cluster may well contain more plants than we usually pot up but we have big plans for next year.  It is our hope to find other gardeners who would like to  encourage cardinal flower to grow in it's natural environment.

Cardinal Flower also reproduces by seed.  Garden soil seldom contains enough moisture for successful germination but at time plants from seed are found.  Warm soil is another requirement for the seeds to sprout so plants from seed will not be found earlier than late May.  This plant was found and moved in August.  Notice how much larger it is than the pictured daughter plants.  These will require protection in place from the late frosts and they will surely get it.  Sumac berries are the source of the small red spheres.  Any that sprout will be weeded out.

This is one of three transplants set out at the base of the forest covered bedrock ridge last spring.  We are hopeful that the plants that follow these can survive on their own.  Since over-protection is in our makeup, one plant will likely get a bucket cover when frost threatens while the other two will be left on their own.  Since moisture leaks out from the base of the ridge, seeds dropped here this fall will likely sprout next summer.  Our hope is that a wild naturally perpetuating cluster of Cardinal Flower plants will establish themselves here.

Natural Planting

Only the brilliant red flowers at forest's edge were planted by us.  Everything else is here with no human action of any kind for many years.   The area was plowed as a field or used as cow pasture in the distant past.  The Cardinal Flower may naturally reproduce in this location since we searched for a spot that had everything that this plant requires.  An occasional spring seeps water into this area.  The shade of the bedrock ridge delays the arrival of warm days as winter ends.  Late snow cover may help these plants avoid the ravages of bitter frosts.  We will likely find eighteen daughter plants growing where these three plants grew.  As next summer builds we will look for new plants from seed that may appear as a result of this moist ground.  We find those prospects exciting.

This is one of the recently discovered new plants from seed.  They were placed in pots to see how they responded to being ripped from the ground.  A shaded location and frequent watering have them in excellent condition.  Fall transplants usually do not survive here but these plants have considerable time to put down roots in their new location.

This is hardly a natural looking location but we are doing everything possible to help these plants survive and reproduce on their own.  This is river-bottom ground and it is much warmer here than up the hill.  River fog frequently washes away frost before it has a chance to really form and damage plant leaves.  That should lessen the impact of frost on these plants.  Stones store both heat and moisture.  Cardinal Flower requires both to survive.  A little work on the driveway will divert rainfall runoff in the direction of these plants.  Partial shade from the nearby sumac trees will make this a more gentle location.

These three times chopped leaves finished the planting.  Their job is to smother weeds, retain moisture and decay into a more natural woodland soil.

The triangular shaped rock and I have a history.  The farmer working the land that borders ours places stones removed from the field on the aged stone wall that serves as a boundary.  A huge visually interesting rock was part of the newly dropped stones.  Despite the landowners permission for us to harvest stone here, there was no way that this stone could be moved.  Hammer and wedges split the stone into several slices.  This top piece was walked up the hill to the gravel bank.  That journey required several days since my periods of hard physical exertion must be limited to avoid cardiac episodes.  Several flip overs moved this stone to the top of a temporary wall.  Today the stone was easily moved down into the lawn cart.  The final move was accomplished easily.  The stone will last for years and we hope that the Cardinal Flower can survive in this location.

The area behind the stones is scheduled to be transformed into a no care planting of native plants.  The first New England Aster is in place.  It will be joined by Black Eyed Susans, Anise Hyssops and more asters.  First we need to beat back the invasive field grasses.  That task needs to be completed soon or our new natives will simply be overrun.