Fantastic Native Plant: Pasque Flower
Folks are always lamenting they have few blossoms both late in the growing period and ancient. I will solve the latter together with pasque flower (Pulsatilla patens), a clumping, gradually expanding native blossom that’s before the game every April.
Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens
Botanical name: Pulsatilla patens (syn. Anemone patens)
Common title: Pasque flower
Origin: Native to the central and northern U.S. plains from Wisconsin, south to Nebraska and west, all the way up and down the Rocky Mountains
USDA Islands: 4 to 9 (find your zone)
Water requirement: Dry to very dry soil
Light requirement: Full sun to 50 percent color
Mature size: Slowly spreading clump to approximately 1 foot wide and tall
Benefits: Historical bloomer, offers insect nectar and pollen for early risers
Seasonal interest: Good two-week bloom period in spring, then puffy seed heads for added show
When to plant: Spring to fall
Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens
Distinguishing traits. Pasque flower takes a long time to look this complete, but it will. The flowers bloom for fourteen days, but since new ones are coming up, you may see blossoms for a month. The common title is when it comes to Easter, when these plants are in full glory (supplied Easter isn’t in March, especially the farther north you go, where bloom time is overdue April).
Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens
The best way to use it. Hairs cover the short stems, leaves as well as petals, giving an insulating layer of warm air to get cold spring nights ( like the hair on our arms functions). Place this little fellow anywhere, since it may take anything in masses, at the very front of a boundary, even as a lawn substitute. It favors clay.
Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens
Planting notes. Many insects visit this ancient flower on warm days, when they’re awakened by the weather. The show does not cease with blossoms — pasque flower’s lovely seed head puffs up like a troll doll’s head for a week or two, so place it where you can get up close and watch the actions. This is a superb plant for children, due to the way it feels while in bloom and afterwards.