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Dicentra spectabilis
It’s been a funny old year – we seem to have been catapulted from winter to summer by day, but night time temperatures are still distinctly spring-like (just plain cold). We’ve had mild frosts here most nights recently (Nick was to be seen scraping the ice off Louise’s windscreen at 4.30am on Sunday, although we’ll concede that given the light levels at the time, you’d have needed damn good night vision to bear witness to this). *
Lady in the bath? **
And the plants continue confused – very warm by day, very cold by night – should they grow, or what? We grow our plants hard here, and although the day/night temperature gradients have been large, the plants seem to be coping admirably – so the magnolia flowers are intact, the cercidiphyllum foliage remains glorious, and the Dicentra continue to delight.
Our picture shows Dicentra spectabilis on our sales benches earlier today, and in spite of Plant Mad Nige’s disdain, they are shrugging off the frosts, and looking wonderful.
They are fully hardy, will grow in any reasonably moist soil (but might sulk in very acid conditions) and like a bit of shade (think woodland margin). They’ll survive in full sun if the soil is moist. And they have the RHS Award of Garden Merit.
What better way to brighten up a spring border?
* The plant fair season is under way, and Sunday saw Louise heading off to spend the day selling plants to tourists and plant hunters at Chatsworth House in Derbyshire. Our most distant event of the year (repeated in September) which means a 5am departure, and a 16 hour day. Sometimes it’s tough in horticulture!
** One of the common names for Dicentra, based on what the flowers look like if you hold them upside down, and squeeze. And use your imagination.