Wild Flowers

Glacial till abuts the remains of a bedrock ridge here on what may be the most inhospitable land that we own.  Water seeps down the ridge as it seeks a downhill run to the river.  None exists so the trapped water gradually seeps into the gravel ground near the tree line.  Broken stones litter the ground and holes are everywhere.  This goldenrod is taller than I am so one must find solid ground with an exploring foot.  Weight is gradually transferred when smooth footing is felt.  Wisdom and a sore ankle kept Becky in the truck while I approached the plants in the background.  Despite the shortness of the trip, I soon disappeared from her sight.  She wondered just what she would do if I failed to reappear.  With no cell phone service here, she would need to drive to the house to call for help.

Eutrochium purpureum is a plant name that does not roll easily off the tongue.  Joe Pye Weed appears to be an unusual label.  Connecting a person's name with the word weed does not suggest a positive connection to the man.  A few keyboard strokes revealed that Jopi was a native American healer that lived in the northeastern United States and used this plant to treat illness.

We find that this plant naturally occurs in moist areas.  Its appearances here are limited to the ground where rain water collects between the ridge and the meadow.  Pinkish-purple flowers are popular here but these remain difficult to approach.  Many of the individual flowers are now past but many more buds wait to open.  Fresh flowers will be evident here for many weeks.  Butterflies and humming bird moths were seen but my disruptive approach through the tall weeds drove them away.  A return trip is necessary since I failed to stop and smell the flowers.  Their scent is reported to be pleasant.

Boneset as a name suggests a specific medical use.  This plant is growing near the Jopi Weed.  It appears that it also prefers moist ground.  These flowers also open over a span of time making their pure white display visible for many days.  Here again I failed to sniff.

The bright red flowers are the only plants in the area planted directly by man.  Since this native treasure remains uncommon in our area, we are seeking a location that might allow it to exist here on its own.  This soil is moist and the nearby ridge blocks late winter sunlight from directly striking the ground.  Lingering snow cover affords this evergreen plant some protection from the extreme temperature swings of early spring.  We are not claiming success yet since the past two years have been nearly free of brutal hard freezes.  Three plants were set out three years ago.  Seven plants are visible in the picture.  Many more might have appeared here given the plant's method of creating new growth but we are more than a little happy to find this bright cardinal red display at the edge of the darkened forest.

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.