The UVULARIA's

in one or two days I will have some picture to go alonge with this text to see
them and a more formal copy of this document go to: 

http://members.aol.com/Meum71/Uvularia.html

Specialty Perennials 
Plants for shade: 
Uvularia 
 

Uvularia  you-veiw-LAH-ree-uh.  

These graceful plants are commonly called bellworts or Merrybells.   they are
in 
the lily( liliaceae )family. 
There are five species of Uvularia and all are native exclusively to North 
America. These attractive and graceful plants are early spring bloomers found
in 
woodlands under deciduous or coniferous trees.  growing from northern florida 
to Canada west to Minnesota and south to Texas. 
 These unobtrusive wood land plants are great for the woodland and shade 
garden, they require little work and are happy just left alone but are also
easy to 
work with if you must move them. 

 UVULARIA have erect, simple or twice branched stems with leaves at the top 
of the stems that are alternate, stalk less or perfoliated. Leaf shape is
ovate to 
ovate-lance. flowers are pendent and have six tepales on long slender stems,
the 
tepales are twisted and or bell shaped. Flowers hang downward in spring from 
the top of the plants and are born singularly or sometimes in pairs. Yellow
or 
pale yellowish  and sometimes green tinted flower color.  Plants grow in woods
or along wood edges. all are native to the Eastern United States. 
  
 HOW TO GROW: 
Grow in rich fertile organic soils that are moist but well drained, They will
grow in some what 
dry soils too if watered once in a while. Plant in deep to part shade, spacing
about two feet 
apart, Plants grow into nice large clumps except sessifolia which grows in
solitary colonies. 
Plant under trees with other woodland plants or in the rock garden. 

PROPAGATION: 
Sow seed as soon as ripe in moist soil or in containers.  Seeds need a cold
period to germinate. 
Do not allow seed to dry out otherwise it might take two or three years to
germination. Plants 
are slow growing from seed. 
Division in spring works very well. Dig up clumps as they come out of the
ground and pull apart 
the naturally formed offsets, replant with the stem no more than one inch deep
and water well, 
keep moist for four weeks. 
In the south division in early fall works too. 

PROBLEMS: 
Some times snails, Rust, Leaf spot, slugs maybe, leaf minors. If the deer are
desperate. I do not 
have any problems with my bellworts except leaf minors and sometimes a very
late frost. 

LANDSCAPE USES: 
Lovely plants in the shade garden with other wildflowers, Hosta, Tiarella and
wild gingers. 
Sessifolia is nice in the rock garden. They have nice upright form growing
into large thick 
clumps of attractive bluish green leaves. Its fun to see the leaves growing
around the stems. 
flowers are showy in the early spring and the drooping habit of the spring
plants make them 
unusual.  These dainty plants look best when grown in colonies, the larger
plants grow in 
"clumps" and the small species grow in open  spreading colonies.

 UVULARIA grandiflora: gran-dih-FLOOR-uh. "Great Bellwort", "Large
Merrybells", "Large 
- Flowered Bellwort"

A slowly spreading perennial with large  white rhizomatous roots. stems
generally two 
branched. In spring stems and foliage and flowers droop down ward and as
summer progresses 
foliage is held some what horizontally. Leaves are mid green, per foliated
(rapped around the stem), 
ovate-lance shaped 5-6" long and 2-4" wide. flowers are born in pairs or
signally, they are 
pendant (hanging), tubular bell shaped, yellow in color or some times green
tinted. Flowers are 
2" long and have twisted tepals( tepals are petals and sepals that have the
calyx and corolla indistinguishable) 
Plants bloom in mid to late spring. The plants bloom as soon as they come out
of the ground as 
the stems and leaves expand. Much loved by early spring insects. Plants grow
20-30 inches tall 
and up to 20 inches wide. In the wild plants tend to be solitary but in
cultivation plants grow 
into nice thick clumps. Plants do great in the woodland setting  and develop
into nice clean 
attractive clumps in summer. fruit is three angled and splits open in July.
Seeds are large whitish 
in color with a crunical. Plant right away. seeds need cold to germinate.
three to four years to 
flowering from seed. Zones 3-7. 

Uvularia grandiflora forma variegata: 
In 1940 a record was made for a variegated form, any one know if it is still
around?

UVULARIA grandiflora ? pallida: same as the normal plant except with pale
yellow flowers.

UVULARIA perfoliata: "Strawbells", "Perfoliate Bellwort", "Wood Merrybells",
"Big Merry 
Bells"

Plants with leaf bases surrounding the stem completely so as to look like the
stem is growing 
through the leaves. Plants are slowly spreading somewhat clump forming
perennials from 
rhizomatous thick roots. Stems single or some times two branched, dropping in
the spring during 
emergence from the ground and throughout flowering. The leaves are perfoliate
and ovate-lance 
shaped, mid green in color and hairless. leaves 3" - 5"  long and half as
wide. Flowers are 
few-  born singularly or sometimes paired at the top of the stems. Flowers are
bell shaped and 
tubular, colored pale yellow and 1.5 " long. The tepals are free and twisted
some what, tips 
spreading out ward. Stamens shorter than styles - while in P. grandiflora they
are longer than 
the styles.  Plants grow 10-12 0r to 19 inches tall and 12-15 inches wide.
flowering in early to 
mid spring. Zones 4-8. Florida to canada and texas.

 UVULARIA sessifolia: "Strawbells", "Wild Oats", "Sessile - Leaved Bellwort",
"Little 
MerryBells"

This plant is native from Quebec to Ontario  Minnesota and southward through
Mississippi and 
eastward to Northern florida. 
Stems 6- 8 inches tall with leaves seldom greater than 2 inches in length.
Stems are smooth and 
with the leaves are a pale yellowish green color. stems are unbranched. single
dainty pendent 
bell shaped, yellow to creamy yellow colored flowers. 
these plants grow in colonies that spread out by underground stems. non clump
forming plants 
with a smaller delicate appearance than the two species above. The first time
i saw these plants 
was on a trail near my home. It was on a hill and they had grown into a large
group with maybe 
fifty stems spread out over a 10 x 30 foot area in a shady spot that got some
sun in the mid 
afternoon. Growing with them were wild geranium and wild-lilly-of-the-vally.
These plant have grown well for me in my wood land garden mixed with trillium
and 
ladyslippers. they never take up any space. They are not as easy to transplant
as the other 
species, but not impossible. Plants would do very good in a shady rock garden
too.
The flowers are small tubular and not that showy but the plants are
interesting just because.
This is not a plant to attract  the attention of those that like big showy
things. I like then and think 
they are a "fun" little plant.



Other species include:

UVULARIA floridana =  Growing from the Carolina's to northern florida.
U VULARIA pudica 

Any one with a good description of these two plants? I would appreciate it if
you could send 
them my way. I have never seen them, and know nothing about them. 

The UVULARIA were once called Oakesiella.


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