Seneca Hill Perennials

Dactylicapnos macrocapnos (Dicentra macrocapnos)

A scrambling herbaceous Himalayan species that emerges in late spring from a large rootstock, it will move rapidly under, over and through neighboring plants, so we suggest trying to train it to a support of its own. From midsummer through frost, it produces a succession of clustered golden-yellow "bleeding hearts" that develop brownish-violet tips as they age. The blue-green leaflets of the pinnate leaves are brushed with silver at the base. These plants are grown from seed from a Chris Chadwell collection (CC 4061 ).

Dactylicapnos ventii

A marvelous Himalayan species with red stems throughout, scandent clusters of yellow "bleeding heart" flowers, and red seedpods. We acquired seed from a European friend and have been enchanted with the results. The plants are notably vigorous growers, and have "bulked up" fast. We do not know how hardy they will be, nor how large they can get in a season (1.8m is just a guess). The plant dies back to the thickened root system in winter.

Deinanthe caerulea

An elegant shade-loving clump former with large, handsome rugose leaves topped by exquisite pale waxy lilac-blue flowers, 4cm/1.6in across, each with a central puff of closely-packed anthers. We offer divisions of plants received originally from Fred and MaryAnn McGourty. It has been suggested that these old garden forms are actually hybrids between D. caerulea and D. bifida; we do not know.

Deinanthe caerulea ex 'LSS True Blue'

These are seedlings of a lovely plant selected from Chinese stock and formerly distributed by Lazy S's Farm under the name 'LSS True Blue'. Lazy S's no longer distributes it, but we've coaxed a nice bunch of seedlings out of it and expect they'll resemble the parent, as there are no other deinanthes nearby. The parent plant is quite unlike the form of D. caerulea we obtained from the McGourtys (see above); it's barely 30cm/1ft tall, and the saturated deep blue-purple flowers are borne on bright red stems - a startling and beautiful combination. Our parent plant grows in a lean location, so these seedlings may be somewhat taller than 30cm/1ft if well-treated, but we don't think they'll ever be large plants

Delphinium tricorne

A little native perennial delphinium, descended from a collection made in Clark Co., Illinois. We have grown other selections and find this one superior, with more finely cut foliage, a relatively compact habit, and deeper blue-purple flowers. The Dwarf Larkspur is decidedly ephemeral, emerging in spring, blooming, setting seed and going dormant, so site it with this in mind. We ship potted blooming-size tubers, but be aware that the tubers are small by nature.

Diascia integerrima

I collected these (as seeds) in Semonkong, Lesotho, growing in rubble at the base of cliffs above the river. There, in gravelly soil and rock, they grow as rather spare plants,with wirey flowering stems rising above sparse foliage and displaying relatively large salmon-pink flowers.

Dicentra canadensis coll. Tug Hill

A particularly nice form of Squirrel Corn propagated from plants we collected on the Tug Hill plateau which, in the wild, had strikingly blue-silver leaves rather than the typical blue-green, and distinctly pink-tinted flowers. The soils on the plateau are thin and acid, though, and we find that in fertile soils the silver-blue coloring is less evident. We suggest growing them lean to bring out their best features.

Dicentra cucullaria, pale pink

This strain of the eastern to midwestern US native bleeding heart produces a range of flower colors from barely pink to rosy. The glaucous foliage is suffused with pink tints as it emerges. Summer dormant, so site it accordingly. We ship potted blooming-size corms.

Dictamnus albus var. caucasicus

A regional variant of this widespread monotypic genus, described elsewhere as superb, stately, and larger in all its parts than the typical garden forms.  In addition to being taller (stately), it bears unusually large flowers, and these flowers are both wilder in form and more widely spaced on the flowering spike than in the garden forms. The base color is a delicate pinkish-white, darker pink towards the petal tips, and the deep red-purple veining is especially prominent.