America's favorite wildflower is sound asleep right now, tucked in under a lovely white blanket of snow, my favorite mulch. But before you know it, the snow will melt, the ground will warm and tight little purplish-green buds of Mertensia virginica will be pushing their way up towards the heavens. These buds gently unfold into 12" - 24" medium green stems over the following week or two and reveal clusters of pinkish-blue, pendulous flower buds that burst open into the softest, pastel blue flowers. As the flowers age, they ever so slowly and magically turn a subtle shade of light pink. Please don't let the common name mislead you, "Virginia Bluebells" are native to just about the entire eastern half of the US and Canada - //plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=MEVI3 and there are 18 different species in the US alone - //plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=MERTE Mertensia virginica being the most widely cultivated of the lot. These early Spring wildflowers will grow happily just about everywhere in the world. Mertensia virginica is a member of the Boraginaceae (Borage) family, and shares residence in that family with other popular genera such as Pulmonaria, Omphalodes, Symphytum, Myosotis, etc. The genus name Mertensia is in honor of the German botanist Franz Karl Mertens (1764-1831). Now, while they are still dormant and as soon as your ground thaws is a very good time to plant Mertensia virginica to ensure that you will get a good bloom this Spring. Mertensia virginica is one of our earliest and easiest to grow Spring ephemeral wildflowers. Eventually we must part company with this lovely plant but not until it sets a respectable enough quantity of seeds to assure that you will soon have a colony. It will then fade away and fall back into a deep slumber until next Spring. I highly recommend Polystichum acrostichoides as a companion plant. Universally known as the "Christmas Fern", this versatile evergreen fern benefits from a haircut in early Spring, just before the emergence of the Mertensia. As the Mertensia is "bidding ado", the P olystichum acrostichoides will be unfurling its new fronds and will quickly cover any bare spots left behind by the Mertensia. See........there's no need to hire a professional garden designer, as good gardening is little more than common sense and observation, not "rocket science" or "brain surgery". And, as if Mertensia virginica didn't have enough gold star attributes, it's NOT on Bambi's menu. I've been building a good stock of Mertensia virginica to share with you and if your ground is still frozen, not to worry, as you can specify the shipdate for your particular area in a provided space on our online PDF orderform. What you'll receive are large, 5 year old bareroot blooming size tubers, actually, they look like miniature carrots. They'll arrive wrapped in long fibered, unmilled sphagnum moss. This material is antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral and a very useful material. The prices shown below include FREE SHIPPING on bareroot plants out of their 2" pots. If you would like to receive the plants undisturbed, in their pots, please add .95¢ per plant to cover the extra cost of shipping soil and pots. 7   for $ 35.00  delivered ($5.00 ea) 10  for $ 45.00  delivered ($4.50 ea) 15  for $ 60.00  delivered ($4.00 ea) 20  for $ 70.00  delivered ($3.50 ea) 50  for $150.00  delivered ($3.00 ea) Larger quantities at even lower prices upon request. Ordering couldn't be easier! Just fill out the order form at //www.sunfarm.com/orderform.pdf | Home | About Us | Plant List | Focus on Hellebores | Garden Tours | | Lectures and Workshops | Glick Picks | Ordering | Request Info | Email Barry | Copyright © Barry Glick 1996-2014. All Rights Reserved. Barry Glick, Sunshine Farm and Gardens 696 Glicks Rd, Renick, WV 24966, USA Phone: (304) 497-2208 E-mail: barry@sunfarm.com Last modified February 24, 2009 URL: //www.sunfarm.com/specials/mertensia_virginica.php