Heartleaf Skullcap

Shade-tolerant, deer-proof, summer-blooming native for woodland edges. the heart-shaped leaves and two-toned blue flowers are a detail that holds up at close range.

Heartleaf Skullcap is the skullcap for woodland edges and lightly shaded gardens: the broad, heart-shaped, coarsely toothed leaves (which distinguish it immediately from the narrower-leaved Scutellaria incana) frame clusters of two-toned blue and white tubular flowers from late spring into summer. The upper lips of the flowers are blue-violet, the lower lips white, giving each flower a subtle two-toned quality that rewards close inspection. Bumblebees work the flowers readily, inserting themselves into the tube to access the nectar. This is a good-natured, reliable native for part shade situations. It spreads slowly by rhizome, forming loose colonies in moist woodland soil without becoming aggressive. Plant it under shrubs, along a shaded path edge, or in a naturalistic woodland garden where it will provide consistent summer bloom in the understory. Deer barely touch it, and it requires no staking, no fertilizing, and essentially no care once established in appropriate conditions.