For a few days in early spring, Virginia Bluebells hold their buds tight. Then a warm day persuades them to give it up. They burst into bloom.
Virginia Bluebells send up tender-looking leaves in early spring. Too soon? Other flowers are still keeping their heads down, hiding below the cold soil’s surface.
When the bluebell buds appear, they’re purple. As they develop, they turn baby pink. When the blossoms open, they do it demurely, downward glancing like young girls who don't yet fully realize their own beauty.
Once opened, the flared blue petals become the color of an Iowa summer sky.
What do Virginia Bluebells need?
They are spring ephemerals, adapted to life in the woods. They need sunlight, but only for a few weeks, before the trees leaf out. During their short time in the sun, they emerge from the ground, flower, and set and disperse their seeds.
By the time the green canopy closes over the forest, Virginia Bluebells have died back to the roots. Their leaves and stems disappear completely, leaving no clue to where they were. The following spring, they will grow up again from the root, and new seedlings will come up near the mother plant.
If you plant Virginia Bluebells, put them under deciduous trees or on the shady north side of a building. You must mark each plant, because by summertime no trace of them will remain, and you won’t want to dig them up by accident.
No sissy this flower
Bluebells look delicate, but they’re tough. They bloom long before the weather is settled. Even after the blossoms open, they can survive cold weather. Bury them under an April snow, and when it melts the blossoms go right on blooming.
Virginia Bluebells have been growing wild in North America for over ten thousand years, since the Pleistocene epoch. It can outwait a summer drought. It wants no fertilizing. It is seldom nibbled by rabbits.
Native range
Virginia Bluebells are native to eastern North America. In the map below, the light green color shows counties where it is found growing wild.
I first fell in love with this gorgeous flower in my grandmothers back woodland. She moved from that farm in southern Indiana after grandpa passed. That was in 1959, so it was many years ago!! I have had enjoyed Virginia bluebells at any home where I lived that there was a bit of woodland for planting them. Thanks for the memory and sharing the wonderful way you have with words!
Love this ...my bluebells are too few...