Virginia bluebells are a delightful spring wildflower with soft, cool green foliage and two-toned pink and blue flowers. They make a beautiful carpet under deciduous trees and are the perfect foil for daffodils. Because bluebells go dormant and disappear after flowering they are referred to as "spring ephemerals."

Description of Virginia bluebells: Virginia bluebells grow 2 feet tall and form dense colonies in wooded areas in early spring. Loads of two-toned bell-shaped flowers hang down from the stems in large clusters. Flower buds are pink and turn lavender-blue as they age. Plants spread by seedlings and, over time, will colonize a large area that is to their liking. Foliage yellows and disappears after plants quit flowering.

Growing Virginia bluebells: Plant where soil is rich in organic matter and moist. Plants will tolerate sun in cooler climates but grow best under deciduous trees where they get sun in spring and are shaded through the summer.

Propagating Virginia bluebells: By division of mature plantings in the spring or seed (it must be fresh).

Uses for Virginia bluebells: Naturalize in wooded areas or mix with hosta and ferns, which will cover bare spots left by dormant bluebells.

Scientific name for Virginia bluebells: Mertensia virginica

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