B
ELIEVE ME, I do not relish my spring and summer purge of pulmonarias, yet it has become a reluctant “must do”. Otherwise my garden would be at risk of being overrun by these spotty, shade-loving invaders.
Multiplication is the name of the game as far this fascinating race of hardy perennial plants is concerned.
Their habit of super-spreading is so severe that I can cast an eagle-eye over the garden only to discover those vivid, multi-spotted leaves sprouting all over the place.
◙ Pulmonaria patterning: All these images are of unnamed pulmonarias in my garden, clearly showing the clarity of the spots and the beauty of the blooms.
And I’m convinced they weren’t there yesterday!
So I get to work and fork out a few dozen, despite the fact that I actually like pulmonarias – aka lungwort – as they add a special something to shady spots from late winter and for months on end, not least their funnel-shaped flowers in April and May.
These blooms can be violet-blue, pinky-purple, deep or pale red, clear blue or white alongside the spots, speckles and splashes in random shapes in silver or greenish shades.
One of my theories about pulmonarias is the “zebra effect” – their leaves are often so vibrant and patterned that I tend not to notice some of them, mimicking as they do the camouflage attributes of zebras with their distinctive black and white striped coats. Fortunately not all of these unwanted pop-ups get away with it!
Many named varieties are near-impossible to tell apart as they spread their rhizomes across the woodland floor.
There is, of course, a degree of expectation over new plants that survive my “cull” as they could display flower or foliage colourings that are that bit different – so will be well worth nurturing.
Not that hardy pulmonarias need much TLC, just as long as they grow in soil that’s not too dry.
They team up beautifully with various ferns and will relish the cool of dappled shade rather than the full glare of the sun.
There are around 14 species of pulmonaria but many more named hybrids. In the wild they can be found in woods and on hills in Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Italy, Greece, Ukraine, Russia and the UK, so they plainly have a wide and varied spread across the nations.
Let me make it clear – as dual-purpose plants, pulmonarias are right up there in the premier league. But I don’t regret declaring war to ensure their numbers are kept at manageable levels and to avoid getting spots before my eyes every time I walk down the garden path!
Most good garden centres will stock varieties of pulmonaria and among the best are Berries & Cream with raspberry-pink flowers and silver foliage, Blue Ensign in deep blue with plain green leaves, Diana Clare in deep pink with purple stripe and silver leaves margined green, Lewis Palmer in violet-blue and narrow, deep green foliage spotted greenish-white, Roy Davidson with pale blue flowers and conspicuously marked leaves, Sissinghurst White, a neat and tidy white with good leaf markings, Moonshine with shimmering silvery-white leaves and the palest blue blooms, Rachel Vernie in a livery of coral-red funnels and plain leaves edged cream, Brentor, raised in my native Devon and bearing bright red magenta flowers amid dark green leaves sparsely spotted silver, and Buckland, also from Devon, with nicely marked leaves and pinkish-red bells.
PULMONARIA POINTS
◙ Not all have patterned foliage. Some are in plain green while others are so spotty these tend to merge into a massed silvery expanse such as Moonshine.
◙ Most grow to around 10in-14in high and are evergreen, though a few varieties are close to deciduous, losing all but a tiny green stump in the run-up to winter.
◙ All have hairy leaves, mostly bristly and rough to the touch, and it is interesting to note that the foliage varies in shape according to species. Pulmonaria longifolia and angustifolia’s are narrow, mollis widens in the middle and officinalis is heart-shaped.
◙ Lungwort is so named because it was once used to cure lung, or pulmonary, disease.
◙ Propagation – if it is needed! – can be by division, root cuttings or seed which will not come true from hybrids but may provide a few surprises.
A useful updated and illustrated handbook on pulmonarias, written by Jennifer Hewitt and Margaret Stone, is available for £7.50 from the Hardy Plant Society, Check online where you will find many suppliers of specific varieties.
Graham's Garden Buddies 