Re: Hepatica was: drought tolerant
Thanks Chris,
I went back and reread what I had written and then checked the
wildflower guide on the shelf. You are right. I had the pH for the two
species of Hepatica reversed. Marge, my apologies.
Not trying to wiggle here, but.... Hepatica acutiloba is the one on I
find growing along the bluffs of the Blue River about 2 miles from my
garden. All is over limestone, but I would swear the leaf litter and soil
has to be toward the acidic side. Need a good pH meter to take on hikes and
check a few sites.
In any case, my apologies to any who I may have given inaccurate
information.
Gene Bush Southern Indiana Zone 6a Munchkin Nursery
around the woods - around the world
genebush@otherside.com http://www.munchkinnursery.com
----- Original Message -----
From: Christopher P. Lindsey <lindsey@mallorn.com>
Sent: Thursday, August 12, 1999 6:47 PM
Subject: Re: Hepatica was: drought tolerant
> > You may want to be careful with the generalizations about Hepatica
and
> > their soil pH requirements. Here on the East Coast we have two species,
H.
> > acutiloba which definitely prefers the acidic side. H. americana leans
more
> > toward the neutral to sweet side (according to the literature). I have
both
> > in my garden and I am acidic over limestone strata. There is a lot of
debate
> > among gardeners about this issue. Have yet to see it resolved. Anyone
else
> > care to jump in here?
>
> Most of the literature that I've seen has it the other way around --
> H. americana is more acidic, and H. acutiloba is found in calcareous
> woodlands...
>
> Rickett, in his "Wildflowers of the United States, Vol. 1, Part 1"
> says "They both occupy much the same range, but H. americana is more
> likely to be found in acid soils, H. acutiloba in limy soils."
>
> Swink and Wilhelm concur in "Plants of the Chicago Region", saying
> of Hepatica americana "[It is] locally frequent in woodlands, generally
> where the soil is more acid than that where the previous species is
> found."
>
> I've also tended to see H. americana in environs with more moisture
> and greater acidity, usually in pine or oak forests with substantial
> decomposing leaf litter.
>
> For what it's worth, I wrote up H. acutiloba (the less acidic one) as
> our Plant of the Month this past April:
>
> http://www.mallorn.com/pom/Apr99/
>
> Not much talk about cultural requirements, but the pictures are pretty.
:)
>
> Chris
>
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