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45 w w w.HomeAndGardenGuides.com native to western China, north- eastern Russia and most of North America. It is believed that this genus originated in Asia between 23-25 million years ago and spread into North America via the Bering Land Bridge. is bridge connected Russia and Alaska between 13,000 and 15,000 years ago – a period following the retreat of the ice sheets yet still before the bridge vanished beneath the rising seas. e genus name was originally penned in 1797 by the German botanist and physician, Albrecht Wilhelm Roth (1757-1834), hon- oring his friend and fellow botanist Franz Carl Mertens (1764-1831). Mertensia virginica was most likely the species he was studying, since it is the 'type' species upon which all the other species within the genus are evaluated and potentially ascribed to this genus. e reason questions may arise is because Roth originally named the plant Merten- sia pulmonarioides, based on the how the flowers resembled those of another member of the Forget- Me-Not family – Pulmonaria or Lungwort. Unbeknownst to Roth, the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) also saw the similarities with Pulmonaria and originally de- scribed the plant in 1756 as Pulmo- naria virginica. e species epithet refers to the territory of Virginia, which initially stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi of the Boraginacea and serves as a signal to pollinators that nectar and pollen is now available. Interest- ingly, pollinators perceive the color blue far more readily than rosy pink, a phenomenon the plant exploits to its benefit! Once pollinated, the flower petals drop to the ground, ensuring pollinators do not waste precious time on flowers absent of pollen. e color change is the result of an increase in pH within the cells of the floral petals and the response of anthocyanin pigments to the changing pH. Interestingly, anthocyanin impacts floral color differently in various plants since in Hydrangea macrophylla, a lower soil pH results in a blue floral color! Although the flower stems of Virginia Bluebells are rather delicate when newly purchased, in the garden they are impressively strong and proudly display their flowers for close to a month. In June, the foliage rapidly fades to yellow, then tan before vanishing until the following spring. Best grown in light shade, plants will gradually naturalize in well-drained, yet moist woodland soils and will develop sizable col- onies over time (as seen at above). Plants are hardy in zones 3-8. e key to incorporating them into a garden is to intersperse them with masses of clump forming ferns, sedges, violas and other shade loving perennials with summer interest. As these companion plants expand in late spring, they help to conceal the holes le from the declining foliage. At Willowwood Arboretum in Morris County NJ, Mertensia is planted in meadows near the edge of woodlands along trails and road- ways. Once again, expanding foliage of the later blooming grasses and perennials of the meadow readily conceal the declining foliage. ey can also be interspersed among deciduous shrubs such as Smooth Hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens) that are oen cut to the ground in winter or Bottlebrush Buckeye (Aesculus parviflora) and Button- bush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) whose foliage appears later in the spring. e shrubs allow the flowers to be fully appreciated before their expanding foliage conceals that of the Bluebells. Not only is adding ample numbers of Virginia Bluebells to the garden visually beautiful, it is also ecologically important, since they are a primary source of nectar for native bees in early spring. Spring ephemerals like Merten- sia virginica can certainly provide challenges for the gardener who is beginning to learn plant personal- ities and the art of weaving them together. However, it is well worth learning how to weave Virginia Bluebells and their sky-blue flowers into the Garden, since on many lev- els it is a true 'Belle' of a plant! u River and north into the Northwest Territory! e mycologist Chris- tian Hendrik Persoon (1761-1836) correctly altered the genus name in 1806 to Mertensia virginica, but failed to correctly describe the plant. It was not until 1829 that the Ger- man naturalist and botanist, Johann Heinrich Fredrich Link (1767-1851) properly described and resolved the name of the plant! Mertensia virginica is naturally found growing from North Carolina to Ontario and west to Minnesota and Kansas. e rosettes of 4" long, oval and bluish-green leaves appear in late March in central NJ, as seen above mixed with the green foliage of Winter Aconite. e anthocyanin pigments in the foliage accounts for the purple color, which protects the delicate young leaves from UV light. In early April, stems adorned with small flower buds at the tips are initially nestled in the rosette of blueish-green foliage, before rapidly stretching to their mature height of 18-24". e stems are clothed with leaves appearing alternately along the stem. As the stem elongates, the flower clusters expand with the terminal 4-6" of the stem ultimately sporting flowers. e flowers (as below) are pink in bud, maturing to sky blue as they open into 1" long, bell-shaped flowers consisting of 5 petals. e change in color from pink to blue is typical to members ONE 'BELLE' OF A PLANT continued from page 42