The gentian family contains a charming native flower that is rarely found in the garden, probably because it stubbornly refuses to be happy under cultivation.
Botanically, it is Eustoma russellianum. Such common names as prairie-gentian, bluebell-gentian, or prairie-lily are more generally used.
Left to its own devices, it grows luxuriantly in certain parts of Nebraska and Kansas and as far south as Louisiana and Mexico.
The plants measure from 1 1/2′ to 3′ feet tall but seem inclined to sprawl (in my garden, at least) and thus conceal their true height.
The gray foliage is neat and attractive. Although the blossoms have only five petals, they do remind one very much of tulips in shape and size, being a little more open-faced than tulips. The color varies from a blue-lavender to a deep rich purple.
Texas Bluebell
A Texas plant bulletin states that at least three distinct forms occur in that state. Along the sea beaches and islands, 14-inch plants bear clusters of pale blue flowers with light yellow to white centers. The blossoms measure about one and one-half inches across.
This strain continues to bloom all Summer. A second variety grows in wet sections and often covers many acres.
Locally, it is known as Texas bluebell. A good number of deep purple blossoms nearly three inches in diameter are produced on 2-foot plants.
This one usually blooms from about the middle of July to the middle of August. The blossoms are often cut in quantity and sent to large cities for the florist trade.
A third sort is somewhat shorter with smaller, dark purple blossoms but only one to three to a plant.
Just why the prairie-gentians do not thrive under cultivation is still a secret. In Kansas, they grow near the salt marshes in certain localities. In Texas, they like seepy, flat ground with a salty composition.
They have also been reported growing in the drainage ditches, which are very wet until the plants bloom and are practically bone dry.
Seeds Are Obtainable
They are about like dust particles in size, but it is not difficult to get them to germinate.
The easiest way, perhaps, is to plant them in a container, which can be kept in a saucer of water until the plants are up well.
The plants are so small that one almost has to have a magnifying glass to see them when they first appear, but they will usually be in less than two weeks. From then on, they are problem children.
They grow very slowly or not at all. They damp off. They grow spindly. Although the plants are tiny, they soon develop long thread-like roots and are exceedingly difficult to reset.
I have successfully planted the seeds outside and let them have the freezing and thawing weather of winter and early spring.
The seeds germinated, but the same difficulty arose in getting them to continue growing as they should. One year, I sank a bottomless bucket into the ground.
After filling the bucket with soil, I planted the seeds and then watered well with a salt solution using one-half cup of salt to one gallon of water. Right beside this planting, I sowed a small plot using pure water to soak the bed.
In all cases, when planting the seed, whether in flats, flower pots, or outside in the ground, the seeds were not covered but merely pressed into the soil. Using this method, even a two-year-old seed germinated very satisfactorily.
I was truly amazed at how the seeds came up in the salted plot – so thick they looked like soft green moss. Those in the adjoining plot were slower to germinate and came up very sparingly.
The salted plot was much easier to keep damp as it seemed to draw its moisture, while the other plot was difficult to keep moist in that very dry spring, even though I used the sprinkling can often.
When it came time to thin out the plants, I marveled at the length of the slender, thread-like roots.
Although one could easily have covered the top of an individual plant with a dime, the roots measured fully 6″ inches long. They seemed to resent being disturbed.
Prairie Gentian
Prairie-gentian is classed variously as an annual, a biennial, and a perennial. If started early in flower pots, it will bloom the first year from seed as any annual does.
However, I have had the finest blossoms from plants, which did not bloom the first year but survived the rigors of our Winter and bloomed the second season as a biennial.
The plants sometimes make rosettes of new growth at the base of the old plants, just as some of our penstemons do. If these continue growing and bloom the following year, the plants have the characteristics of a perennial.
The blossoms are truly a lovely sight. They have a rich, fragile texture with dark centers.
The stigma consists of two green velvety plates, which are clasped together as the spirally folded buds open and then spread apart after the flower has been open for a while.
Difficulty in Growing
I wonder what the experience of other gardeners has been with this lovely native? I have had lovely blossoms for a season or two, but I can count more failures than successes. They are so beautiful that I want them in my garden every year.
My main difficulty is keeping the plants growing – they sit in their places lazily for weeks on end without further growth.
They would be a great addition to our gardens if we could rapidly stimulate them into active growth.
When used as a cut flower, they last as long as three weeks. What a treasure that would be for our July cutting gardens!
44659 by Olga Rolf Tiemann