Snowdrops get all the attention for blooming so early, in late winter when supposedly nothing else is blooming.
But what about Winter Aconite?
No one often mentions poor Winter Aconite, aka Eranthis, but for me it blooms at the same time as Snowdrops - possibly a bit earlier. And, while Snowdrops are lovely and all, the tiny Winter Aconites are far more welcome in my garden for the main reason that...
...they aren't white.
And after a long snowy winter, I'm pretty much ready for any color that isn't white! (No offense to you, Snowdrops.)
Now I do get why Snowdrops are far more commonly grown here than Winter Aconite. Snowdrops are very hardy, easy to grow plants, and they are decently easy to sell as dried bulbs in fall. Winter Aconite are fussier both to grow and to sell. Bulb growers will sell dried Winter Aconite tubers in the fall, but the tubers really resent being dried out. Out of the several dozen Winter Aconite tubers I've planted, only a handful have actually come up.
Soaking the tubers well before planting them helps to rehydrate them and increases the chance that they will come up. Margaret Roach from A Way to Garden has recommended buying wax-dipped tubers that are now being offered from places such as Old House Gardens, as the wax prevents them from drying out so much. She has had much more success with these (100%!), so that definitely sounds like a better way of selling them!
Winter Aconite is also more fussy about where it likes to grow. They prefer cooler climates (zones 4 to 7), and they like partial shade or conditions under deciduous trees and shrubs where they get sun in winter and shade in summer. They thrive in that magical rich, moist, well-drained soil, and they don't like to completely dry out even in summer dormancy. Winter Aconites also prefer not to be disturbed - mark where they are so that you don't accidentally dig them up in summer (which I am totally guilty of, whoops!)
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| Winter Aconite seedlings |
Winter Aconites are critter-proof, so once you get them established, they are thankfully pretty hardy and long-lasting. When happy, they seed around and make large colonies of Winter Aconite in the garden. They are best divided and moved in late Spring after their foliage starts to fade.
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| Eranthis hyemalis |
There are two types of Winter Aconite commonly sold here in the States. Eranthis hyemalis, native to Europe, is the most common one. Eranthis cilicica, native to Asia Minor, is now thought to be a possible subspecies of E. hyemalis. It blooms slightly later, has slightly larger flowers, and more deeply divided foliage than E. hyemalis. E. hyemalis is said to prefer more alkaline soil, while E. cilicica prefers a more neutral soil. There are also several Asian species, some with beautiful white flowers, but rarely sold here.
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| Eranthis cilicica |
There are several cultivars of Winter Aconite out there, mainly from German and Scandinavian breeders, but they are hard to find and expensive here in the States. E. hyemalis 'Flore Pleno' has doubled flowers, 'Schwefelglanz' has pale yellow flowers, and 'Schlyter's Triumph' has orange flowers, to name a few. I am hoping that Winter Aconite will become more popular over here, and we will start seeing more interesting varieties available. After the long winter, though, we will take whatever color we can get in the garden!
And I so enjoy those little splashes of yellow that pop up right after the snow!
Happy Spring!
