My Corner Online

 

Pulmonaria 'Pretty in Pink' (Hybrid) | Lungwort, Jerusalem Sage, Mary's Tears, Our Lady's Milk Drops

First Blooms

Purchased July 2021

March 21, 2022

March 2, 2023

February 26, 2024

Boraginaceae (Borage or Forget-me-not Family) (Pronounced Bor-AJ-ee-NEE-cee-eye)

Pulmonaria (Pronounced  puhl-muh-NEHR-ee-uh ) is derived from Latin pulmo meaning "lung" and “wort” is an old English suffix that means “plant.”

Lungworts are known for their spotted leaves which with their oval shape look like diseased lungs!  Well, now that's not something attractive for my garden! I much rather like things that reference something lovely. However, pseudoscience of medieval times held that because they looked like lungs, they could be used to cure the lungs.

The plants are evergreen, so even after the bloom they have great foliage for the garden. The leaves are arranged like "rosettes" in that they go around the stem. The leaves are edible, which is good because medieval people used it as medicine. It can be used in salads, but who would want to do that since it makes such a lovely evergreen in the garden.

The flowers change color as they age.  They will open up as pink, change to a rose-violet color, and then mature as a blue color. It's magical and fun! The PH value changes within the flower which causes the colors to change. Pink is acidic and blue is alkaline. Because the flowers open up in succession over time, the plant has all three colors displayed at the same time. Isn't that so cool!

The plant spreads by rhizomes underground. It spreads very slowly, so it is not invasive. To propagate, the plant can be divided in the Autumn. It blooms too early to propagate it in the Spring.

Lungwort is a bit picky when it comes to the soil being too wet or too dry, so if it does not grow well in one spot, try another spot. 

My plant is in my shade garden because it prefers shade. It is also deer resistant. 

2024

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