NYU Garden Shop Plant of the Week, April 11, 2012

By NYU Head Gardener, George Reis

Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica)  100 Bleecker Street DOT strip

The flowers of Virginia Bluebells, in the words of William Cullina, author of Wildflowers, "are the same ethereal blue as a cloudless spring day."  You won't have too long to enjoy these woodland plants as they go dormant in the warm months in preparation for the next spring.

A Manhattan native, Mertensia virginica is the best selection of the genus for garden use as it has the largest flowers and easiest care requirements.  This plant likes a shaded, moist location, but even in this very warm and dry spring we're having, it has thrived as a nice accent paired with daffodils in the DOT strips on Bleecker Street.