Virginia Bluebells
Mertensia virginica
Sky-blue April flowers that open from pink buds and carpet moist shade. Blooms three weeks, feeds bees and hummingbirds, then rests until spring.
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 most breathtaking native spring ephemeral. pure sky-blue flowers that stop visitors in their tracks, with hummingbird and native bee attraction at peak spring activity.
Virginia Bluebells is spring's finest show. The clusters of sky-blue tubular flowers, pink in bud, turning true clear blue as they open, hang in nodding sprays over smooth blue-green foliage. Walk into a woodland where they've naturalized in April and you'll understand why people drive hours to see them. They bloom for three weeks, draw long-tongued bees and hummingbirds intensively, and then disappear completely underground by midsummer, leaving not a trace. That disappearing act is their one quirk: plant summer companions like ferns, hostas, or wild ginger that will fill in the gap when the bluebells go dormant. In the right moist, shaded spot they naturalize freely and return more impressive every year. This is the plant that makes visitors ask what you've done with your shade garden.
A nursery-grown plant, ready for the ground.
Healthy, container-grown virginia bluebells 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
- Moist
- Mature size
- 1–2 ft · 12–18 in wide
- Bloom time
- April–May
- USDA zones
- 3–8
- Family
- Boraginaceae
- Native range
- Eastern North America. rich, moist floodplain woods and stream banks from New York to Kansas south to North Carolina and Arkansas
Care notes for virginia bluebells.
Plant in partial to full shade in consistently moist, rich, well-drained soil. Spring moisture is essential during the growing season; summer drought is tolerated because the plant is dormant by then. Allow self-seeding to naturalize a colony. disturb the soil as little as possible after plants go dormant to avoid damaging dormant crowns. Mark locations so you don't plant into them. Combine with summer-emergent companions to fill the gap.
Pairs well with these.
Same light, same soil, same wildlife. Janet's picks to plant alongside virginia bluebells.
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’.