Pulmonaria

Plants for shade
PULMONARIA

puhl-muohn-AIR-ee-uh = lungwort, Bethlehem sage, cowslip.

There are maybe as many as 12 species of Pulmonaria which are in the Borage
family (Boraginaceae) 
The Lungworts are a nice group of Plants for the semi-shady garden. They like
moist soil but do very well in average garden soil too. Most are fast growers
with hairy leaves and ‘Virginia blue- bell'  like flowers. The leaves are
simple, large, hairy, green with a few species spotted.
Some species are evergreen but most are deciduous.  Plants Flower in early
spring (April-June.)   Flowering stems rise from the top of the plant which
many times may still  have green leaves after winter. Flowering stems with
small leaves and clustered flowers in cymes. Most plants have funnel shaped
flowers with somewhat flaring mouths.
Flower colors can be red, blue, white or violet. With some species having pink
flower buds and  coming out radish-violet turning blue as they age.  Flowers
close at night and open again in the morning.
New leaves begin to grow a few days to weeks after the first flowers open.
Roots are white and thickly fibrous.


Pulmonaria should be planted in a somewhat shady area, like under deciduas
trees. They like spring sunshine and morning light. They do not like hot
afternoon heat- wilting under the intense heat and light of the summer sun.
Plants are not that good in hot humid climates, were they will go dormant in
summer and begin to grow again in late summer or early fall,  when the
temperature is cooler.

Pulmonaria are valuable shade to semi shade plants with showy 
early spring flowers and attractive rosettes of basal leaves. 
In their native environments the lung worts grow on a wide range of soils from
acid to alkaline, dry to wet, sunny to shady, along streams and in mountains. 

They hybridize freely when their populations over lap making  identification
imprecise many times.
Lung worts make great ground covers when grown well. Mix with Hosta, Astilbe,
Epimedium, Or grow under Daylilies or Peonies or any large shrub. Great under
large Oak trees!

HOW TO GROW:
Plant in humus rich, moist, well draining soils, that are rich and cool. Full
to part shade. Divide ever three to five years. Mulch over winter in exposed
sights. Water in mid summer to keep plants from going dormant.

PROBLEMS:
Pulmonaria do not like real dry soils that are hot. Afternoon sun way wilt
plants but they tend to recover in the evening if the soil is not unduly dry.
Powdery mild in dry locations or were the summers are very hot and humid.
Slugs and snails might feed on new growth. Wood chucks will eat them if hungry
(when is a woodchuck not hungry!) Plants can self seed heavily if happy.


PROPAGATION:
Seed is good sized, black, shiny and ripe in mid to late summer. After
Flowering the stems lay on the ground as new leaves are grown. Seeds should be
sown as soon as collected and given a period of freezing. Or plant out in a
pot over winter or in a seed bed.
Plants germinate in mid spring and grow fairly fast.  Flowering in their
second or third year.
Lungworts hybridize freely in cultivation- so seed will not "come true" - but
most plants should be worth growing unless you have a difficult location- were
the cultivars are much more adaptable.
Division should be done in spring or late summer, also root cuttings in early
summer propagate well. Tissue culture is now the predominate means of
propagation in the nursery trade.

P. angustifolia = an-gus-tih-FOE-lee-uh   "Blue Cowslip" or "Blue lungwort" 

8-12 inches tall with a spread of 18 inches. Leaves 7 - 13 inches long,  green
with out spots, lance shaped.  Flowering stems come up erect then drop as the
season progress's. Flowers a nice blue color and reddish-pink in bud. Early to
late spring. Native in central to North east to east Europe.
Plants  spread out to  form open clusters of plants.
Zones (2)4-8.
Subspecies azurea = has bright gentian-blue colored flowers with reddish buds.

P. longifolia = lon-gih-FOE-lee-uh "Long Leaved Lungwort" or "Longleaf
Lungwort"
Grows in dense clumps, with deciduous leaves that are narrow and lance shaped
and pointed at the tips.  Leaves 9-19 inches long dark green with silver gray
white spots. Flowers open pink and turn bright blue. Long flowering with many
flowers crowded into dense cymes.
From west Europe including Sweden and the British isles. 8-12 inches tall and
18-24 inches wide.
Zones 3-8.
Cult. ‘Bertram Anderson' = has longer but narrower leaves with more distinct
markings than the species. Bright blue flowers.

P. mollis =strong growing- forming large clumps - deciduous (not evergreen)
none spotted leaves from 12-18 inches long.  Blooming very early with deep
blue flowers with a few plants blue tinged with pink.  Flowers aging to
purplish pink.  15-18 inches high and to 2.5 feet wide. Belgium France,
Germany. Zones ?6-8. 

P. officinalis = "Common Lungwort" "Jerusalem Cow-Slip" 
Leaves heart shaped at the base roughly hairy , white spotted most of the
time. 
Flowers Pink then turning purplish-blue. Native from Holland to Sweden down to
Italy and to Bulgaria. Found growing in moist some what peaty soils in mixed
deciduous woods.
Var. Immaculata = does not have spots.
Cult. ‘Alba' = has white flowers.
These plants were once used medicinally to treat lung problems thus the name
Pulmonaria and lungwort. The plants were said to look like lungs so logically
they must be for lung problems- or so it was said in late medieval times.

P. rubra = ROO-bruh   "Red Lungwort" 
leaves 5-7 inches long.  Plants tall from 12-27 inches with somewhat lax stems
with coral-red flowers. Plants form scattered clumps with some what ever green
unspotted leaves.  Leaves are pointed and some what diamond shaped,  stems and
leaves very hairy. Long blooming period in the spring.  Native in South East
Europe ( Carpathian and Balkan Mts). Zones (4)5-8
VAR. Albocorollata syn. Alba = has white flowers and grows about 10 to 12
inches tall.

P. saccharata = sah-kah-RAH-tuh   "Bethlehem Sage" The most commonly grown
lungwort with more or less evergreen leaves medium green with white spots that
over lap some what.  Leaves 8- 12 inches long and 5-8 inches wide and hairy.
Stem leaves large. Blooming in early spring- for me this is the first plant to
bloom. Flower buds purple-violet to reddish purple opening to flower blue-
violet. Native from France to Italy. Zones 4-8

‘Mrs Moon' = large leaves and pink buds and flowers turning to blue.
‘Janet Fisk' = has large very nicely spotted leaves and lavender-pink flowers.
‘Sissinghurst White' = has white flowers on plants about the size of Mrs Moon,
but the spots on the leaves are more showy.

P. stiriaca = From the east Alps comes this attractive plant with rounded,
splotched white leaves.
  Plants with blue flowers  blooming in April and May. Stems 10-15 inches tall
and upright.

P. vallarsae = Clump forming deciduous plants with dark green wavy marginated
leaves.
 Leaves smaller than most Pulmonaria growing to 8 inches in length and having
greenish to whitish spots. Plants blooming in early spring with violet flowers
turning purple with age. 
Plants 5-13 inches in height. Zones? 6-8.

Pulmonaria in the land scape:

Great plants for the spring garden- plant under deciduous trees and shrubs.
Mix in with Hosta and spring bulbs. Plants are tough and adaptable surviving
some drought if established.
Lung worts make showy ground covers and the newer forms are great specimen
plants too.
Cut off old flowering stems to prevent seeding and to tidy up the clumps.
Plants can be grown under large clumps of daylilies and Peonies.  Plants look
outstanding in large drifts mixed with ferns and Astilbe. Mass plants are eye
caching.  

Here is a check list of the cultivars that are grown.

Pulmonaria angustifolia ‘Alba'
Pulmonaria angustifolia ‘Azurea'
Pulmonaria angustifolia ‘Beth's Pink'
Pulmonaria 'Apple Frost'
Pulmonaria ‘Baby Blue'
Pulmonaria 'Berries and Cream'
Pulmonaria 'Bertram Anderson'
Pulmonaria ‘Bielfeld'
Pulmonaria ‘Blaues Meer'
Pulmonaria ‘Blue Ensign'
Pulmonaria ‘Bowle's Red'
Pulmonaria ‘British Sterling'
Pulmonaria ‘Cambridge Blue'
Pulmonaria 'Coral Springs'
Pulmonaria ‘Dora Bielefeld'  
Pulmonaria 'Excalibur' PP#8958
Pulmonaria ‘Fruhlingshimmel'  what is that?
Pulmonaria ‘Janet Fisk'
Pulmonaria ‘Johnson's Blue'
Pulmonaria ‘Leopard'
Pulmonaria ‘Lewis Palmer' 
Pulmonaria 'Little Star'
Pulmonaria longifolia ssp. cevennensis
Pulmonaria ‘Margery Fish'
Pulmonaria ‘Mawson's Variety' 
Pulmonaria 'Milky Way'
Pulmonaria ‘Munstead Blue'
Pulmonaria ‘Mrs Moon'
Pulmonaria officinalis Var. Immaculata
Pulmonaria officinalis ‘Alba'
Pulmonaria ‘Paul Aden'
Pulmonaria ‘Pierre's Pure Pink'
Pulmonaria ‘Pink Dawn'
Pulmonaria 'Raspberry Splash' PPAF
Pulmonaria 'Regal Ruffles'
Pulmonaria 'Roy Davidson
Pulmonaria rubra 'Aldocorolla'
Pulmonaria rubra ‘Barfeild Pink'
Pulmonaria rubra 'David Ward'
Pulmonaria rubra 'Redstart' 
Pulmonaria 'Silverlance' 
Pulmonaria ‘Silver Streamer's'
Pulmonaria ‘Sissinghurst White'
Pulmonaria ‘Smoky Blue'
Pulmonaria ‘Snowy Owl'
Pulmonaria 'Spilled Milk'
Pulmonaria 'Victorian Brooch' PPAF
Pulmonaria 'White Wings'












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