General Culture:
Best grown in fertile, gritty-humusy, medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun to light shade. Good soil drainage is essential. Best performance occurs in cool climates where plants are also more apt to tolerate drier conditions. Needs consistent moisture in hot summer climates such as the St. Louis area. Plants are best left undisturbed once established.
Noteworthy Characteristics:
This species of pasque flower is an early spring wildflower that features silky, hairy, fern-like foliage and solitary, erect-to-nodding, open-bell-shaped, purple flowers. Hairy flower stems emerge from the ground in spring (March-April in St. Louis), sometimes when patches of snow are still on the ground. Flowers bloom as the foliage begins to form. When the flowers appear, stems are typically only 4-5” tall. Stems elongate and foliage grows taller after bloom, with plants typically maturing to 9-12” tall. Deeply divided basal leaves (to 4-6” long) are silky-hairy. Flowers are followed by plume-like seedheads (reminiscent of some clematis and geum) that have good ornamental interest. P. vulgaris subsp. grandis is native to central Europe and the Ukraine. Its flowers are lavender-blue, its leaves generally emerge after flowering and it is covered with silvery golden brown hairs. ‘Papageno’ features fringed double flowers in a variety of mixed colors including shades of creamy white, pink, red, blue and purple. Flowers may be single, especially in the first year. The cultivar name of ‘Papageno’ presumably was borrowed from the brightly colored bird-catcher character of the same name in Mozart’s The Magic Flute opera. Pasque comes from Old French for Easter in reference to the spring bloom time. Vulgaris means common. Pulsatilla vulgaris is synonymous with Anemone pulsatilla. The within subspecies is synonymous with P. hallerii subsp. grandis.
Problems:
No serious insect or disease problems.
Uses:
Rock gardens. Prairie areas. Border fronts.
© Missouri Botanical
Garden, 2001-2010
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