Spring Beauty
Claytonia virginica
Pink-veined white flowers carpet the ground in March and April, then vanish by May. One of the first pollen sources for waking bumblebee queens.
Typically 1 pint–1 gal · $9–$30 · final price at pickup
- Thu, Aug 138 AM – 4 PM
- Fri, Aug 148 AM – 4 PM
- Sat, Aug 158 AM – 2 PM
The first color of spring in the woodland -- white flowers with pink veins that carpet the ground before the trees wake up.
Spring beauty is the native wildflower that defines early spring in eastern woodlands. The delicate five-petaled flowers -- white with fine pink veins that seem to glow from within -- carpet the forest floor in March and April before the trees leaf out. Each plant emerges from a small corm, blooms, and retreats underground by May, leaving no trace through summer. A true ephemeral. In a woodland garden, spring beauty naturalizes readily by seed and can form drifts over years that announce spring's arrival with a sweep of pink-veined white. It works beautifully under deciduous trees where the annual disappearance of the foliage is an asset rather than a problem. One of the earliest pollen sources for queen bumblebees emerging from winter hibernation.
A nursery-grown plant, ready for the ground.
Healthy, container-grown spring beauty propagated on-site at Hill House from regional genetics. Includes a one-page care card. We make every effort to supply plants as listed; occasionally we substitute a similar species of equal value.
- Sun
- Part sun
- Water
- Average
- Mature size
- 3–8 in · 3–6 in wide
- Bloom time
- March–April
- Bloom color
- White, Pink
- USDA zones
- 3–8
- Family
- Montiaceae
- Native range
- Eastern North America from Quebec south to Florida and west to Nebraska, in rich moist woodland and disturbed ground
Care notes for spring beauty.
Part sun to full shade in moist, well-drained, humus-rich soil. Allow plants to set seed before foliage dies back -- this is how the planting spreads naturally. Do not disturb soil after plants go dormant, as the small corms are shallow and easily damaged. No supplemental care needed once established.
Pairs well with these.
Same light, same soil, same wildlife. Janet's picks to plant alongside spring beauty.
Or skip the guesswork.
Curated packages bundle complementary species for an instant habitat. One reservation, one pickup day, a printed layout map.
Short on Space Package
For gardeners who have an abundance of passion but are short on space, this package features tidy, upright, clump-forming natives that behave and function well in small spaces.
Shade Bed Package
Ferns, sedges, and woodland natives that thrive under existing trees.
Birder’s Paradise Package
For the avid bird watchers and budding ornithologists in our community, the Birder’s Paradise Package consists of species that Hill House Nursery staff and longtime native plant advocates such as Doug Tallamy consider ‘premier bird garden plants’.