Lungwort Plant

Lungwort Plant is a perennial that can grow from between a foot to a foot and a half high. The leaves are very beautiful as well as they are heart-shaped and covered with beautiful patterns and speckles of white and green.

This is a shade plant, representative of the type, and while it will certainly not tolerate of strong and direct sunlight, is eminently suitable to the shade garden. It is especially good for filling those quiet dark portions of your garden where other plants might find it difficult to grow.

It's not just the foliage that makes the Lungwort plant so decorative – it has some lovely flowers as well. Although these flowers are tiny they look extremely attractive, like little stars scattered over the foliage.

Another thing that is really interesting about these flowers is that these little bells actually change color – they start out pink and then slowly turn to blue as they begin to age. And of course, the foliage remains even after the flowering season, right until winter's frost.

This interesting plant is native to Europe and parts of Asia. You should have little or no trouble growing them so long as you remember that these are plants that prefer deep shade – they will tolerate partial shade, but really they are suited to deep shade.

That's quite all right – it takes a balance of all sorts of plants to keep your garden looking beautiful and green – and in flower – all through the flowering season, and the humble Lungwort has it's place in this sheme of things as well.

Think of that old oak at the bottom of your garden that nothing grows under because the shade is too deep – well, Lungwort will turn the ground beneath that tree into a beautiful part of the garden.

Using Lungwort Plant in your gardens or woods

As a matter of fact, Lungwort is an excellent means to add color, greenery and beauty to any spot of ground whether in your garden, or in your woods, that is bare through a lack of sunlight. This beautiful plant with it's tiny nodding blue bells of flowers and it's heart shaped leaves with white speckles on them like stars, will brighten and fill those spots of bare earth in no time.

The plants generally grow from nearly a foot tall to slightly more than that – so they are pretty ground-hugging, and also deciduous.

Remember that Lungwort Plant will look even better if you mix it in with some other species of plants that also grow well in the shade – plants like primroses and ferns look beautiful besides Lungwort, and in between these you can add some bleeding hearts, some hostas, and the occasional daffodil and tulip.

Remember that you can also use these plants on the banks of streams, to bring the greenery of the woods right up to the water's edge.

Soil

Like most species that have evolved as forest dwellers, this plant does best in an organically rich and humus-laden soil. You can use any sort of compost to provide this, but of course leaf compost works best as it replicates the original environment of the plant.

Make sure you keep the soil moist, but never soggy. The plant is hardy and will usually recover from the occasional drought.

Propagation

You'll find that this plant isn't an aggressive spreader. Buy hybrid plants from nurseries as these have been optimized for bloom and for the length of the flowering period.

Generally speaking you should place the plants from a foot to a foot and a half apart, and water them well until they are established. When you want to propagate established plants, divide them either in spring, after the flowering period is done, or else early in fall.

Summary

Lungwort Plant AKA Bethlehem Sage and Jerusalem sage is an early to shine perennial. Grows to 12 to 18 inches with pink, blue and white flowers. But it's not the flowers alone that makes this flower for shade gardening so great. The foliage is so captivating with its mottled and speckled green and white leaves. This is a must have in your shade garden.

This plant prefers a rich humus soil that is kept moist. Good composted soil and leaf mold will go a long way to keep this beauty happy. No peat moss as a neutral to slightly alkaline soil is best.

Pulmonaria is its botanical name. Look for different varieties such as:

• Pulmonaria x Apple Frost
• Pulmonaria x Berries 'N Cream
• Pulmonaria Long. E.B. Anderson
• Pulmonaria Longifolia Exclaibur
• Pulmonaria Majeste

Buy this plant

Lungwort - Raspberry Splash

Mixed Lungwort

From Lungwort Plant Back to Shade Garden Plants

Back to Shade Gardens Ideas and Plan