Seneca Hill Perennials

Campanula divaricata

A wonderful Appalachian native that produces much-branched flowering stems bearing a froth of little blue-violet bells. This is not a standalone plant, but one which should be used to introduce texture among coarser plants.

Campanula lactiflora 'Virgin Queen' - A SENECA HILL PERENNIALS INTRODUCTION (2009)

A really gorgeous border plant, producing clouds of lilac-blue flowers on upright clumps, and apparently self-sterile: it's never produced a single seedling here. Self-sterility is fairly common in campanulas; whether the plant is truly sterile, though, we don't know. It hasn't had another C. lactiflora to cross with, so has led, perforce, a chaste life.

Cardiocrinum cordatum coll. Yoro Mountains

From seed wild-collected at 75m in the Yoro mountains of central Japan, this is one of the hardiest cardiocrinum species and grows to a manageable size. We are skeptical, though, of our source's zone-4 hardiness rating, and assume zone 6 is a safer bet. This species has the typical odd funnel-shaped flower, cream-colored with pale yellow in the throat and reddish-brown markings. Our third-year seedlings should bloom in two or three years, but in the meanwhile you'll enjoy the glossy heart-shaped basal leaves. Our photo is actually of the following selection, but these should be very similar.

Cardiocrinum cordatum (var. cordatum) ex Heronswood HC 970635

Third-year bulbs from seed descended from Dan Hinkley's collection on Japan's Kii Peninsula (HC 970635). As we understand it, taxonomists no longer recognize the distinction between C. cordatum var. cordatum (the name attached to this plant) and C. cordatum var. glehnii, but horticulturally C. cordatum var. cordatum, which has a more southern distribution in Japan, is the smaller of the two, with C. cordatum glehnii being reported to attain a height of 1.8m/6ft. We expect these plants to be similar to the preceding selection. Our photo is of the parent plant.

Cardiocrinum giganteum var. yunnanense

From western and central China comes this large cardiocrinum, with new growth suffused with metallic bronze and fragrant white trumpet-shaped flowers, striped wine-red within, on stout stems. Each bulb is monocarpic, but after blooming the old bulb forms offsets which will bloom in three to four years. Our third-year seedlings are grown from seed generously shared by Jim Dronenburg and Dan Weil. The parent plants came from Chen Yi (Kaichen Nursery) as C. cathayanum, but Jim McKenney has studied the distribution of the leaves on the flowering stem (scattered rather than in whorls, as they would be in C. cathayanum) and the shape of the flowers (more flared and less zygomorphic than in C. cathayanum or C. cordatum) and assures us that what we have is in fact C. giganteum var. yunnanense. We're actually very pleased to hear this, because we know this species is moderately hardy here (we have it in the garden). Photo copyright Daneil Weil, used with permission.

Carex appalachica

A refined native sedge that we found in our own woods, and that was identified for us by Carex guru Tony Reznicek. A member of the C. rosea group, it forms a finely-textured clump of hairlike leaves , up to 30cm/1ft long. Excellent for adding texture between larger plants and edging shaded paths, and turns a tawny gold in fall.

Carex eburnea

A native cutie with extremely fine, soft bright green upright foliage. This tidy mat-forming sedge occurs naturally from Newfoundland to British Columbia, south to Virginia, Missouri, Nebraska and parts of Texas, in dry sandy soils and on limestone bluffs. We have seen it growing on limestone pavement (the natural rock formation, not a country road) in Green Lakes State Park in Fayetteville, New York.

Carex platyphylla

Possibly the most beautiful of our native woodland sedges. A clump-former with very broad (sometimes over 2.5cm/1in), somewhat pleated glaucous blue leaves, C. platyphylla will adapt to a fairly wide range of soils, tolerating quite dry conditions once established. We find it in the wild in solitary tufts, but in fertile garden soils it multiplies into substantial clumps.

Chamaelirium luteum

Devil's Bit is an intriguing US native. In late spring and summer each plant puts up, above rosettes of spatulate basal leaves, flowering stems of either male or female flowers, the male spikes being denser, shorter and showier than the females. The intriguing thing is that these spikes lean and twist in unpredictable ways - hence the common name -so that a grouping of them looks pretty tipsy. Despite the fact that they're native to moist to wet areas, ours do fine in average garden conditions. Third-year plants should bloom in another year (or possibly this one).

Chrysogonum virginianum, Norman Singer's Form

From Phil Cook of Underhill, Vermont (zone 4), who got it from the late Norman Singer many years ago. Grown in lean conditions it is tiny and tight, forming a congested mat less than 5cm/2in high. Overfed, it retains the tight habit but gets taller. The leaves are dark and lustrous green, and the solitary golden yellow flowers are sprinkled across the foliage. A hardy and lovely groundcover and edger.