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 … Read more
A hotdog at a Cub Scout cookout has greater life expectancy than alpine gentians in a sea-level garden. A plant conditioned to the clear air and blazing sun of high altitudes is bound to suffer in a humid, sultry atmosphere. And its roots, designed to anchor in the austere crevices of rocky slopes, are quickly … Read more
No flower runs through a more excellent range of true blue than does the gentian. Since its various species provide bloom from early March to winter snows, it seems strange that gentians are not more often seen in gardens. Although mainly mountain and rock garden plants, some gentians may be found for almost any situation … Read more
The gentian family is one of the smaller plant families, containing only 70 genera and about 800 species, but it is certainly one of the loveliest and most fascinating. In North America, we are fortunate to possess no less than 18 genera and 110 species of these beautiful plants. Included in this group are the … Read more