My Corner Online
Erysimum allionii | Siberian Wallflower
First bloom:
2023 Seeds planted
2024 March 30
Erysimum allionii | Siberian Wallflower
Brassicaceae (Cabbage or Mustard) Pronounced brass-ih-KAY-see-eye (formerly the Cruciferae | Crucifer Family)
Pronounced Air-ruh-sim-um Al-ee-OH-nee-eye
I have never grown or seen or even heard of a Wallflower before and yet there are many species (the second Scientific name which is lower case) of the Wallflower. Maybe I will want to look into trying another one.
Erysimum was named in 1753 from the Greek "eryomai" which means "help" or "save" as it references the old belief that the plant had medicinal properties.
Carlo Allioni (1726-1804) was an Italian botanist that this species is named after, so it is an Italian name.
The Siberian Wallflower was formerly classified as Cheiranthus x allionii and C. x marshallii.
The name Cheiranthus is Latin for "hand flower," referring to this fragrant flower's use in small bunches of flowers (aka nosegays or aka tussie which is old English). A tussie-mussie is a small bunch of flowers wrapped in moss to hold it together from a rhyme in the 1400's! It could also be from the Greek word "cheir" which means hand.
This is a perennial, but it is said to be short-lived in colder zones so it is often treated as a biennial. This makes sense because my seeds did not flower the first year I planted them. Only time will tell whether they will bloom again next year. Maybe I should not deadhead this plant so the seeds fall to the ground and those will bloom the next year.
The height is perfect for me at 18 to 20 inches tall and prefers full sun. The flowers are orange and really pop! The flowers have a sweet fragrance and sit on top of the stems. The leaves are lance-shaped and arrange in a rosette at the base of the plant. This rosette around the stem is a common denominator of the Brassicaceae Family, which makes since to me when I think about how broccoli grows.
The Wallflowers have been around a long time! In a letter from President Thomas Jefferson to his daughter Martha Jefferson Randolph, dated November 21, 1806, he wrote that he sent her "a bundle of Wallflowers." This quote can be read here from the Pierpont Morgan Library: https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/99-01-02-4568
Thomas Jefferson also wrote a letter to Bernard McMahon in Philadelphia on January 6, 1807 to order "wall flower" seed.T To see what other flowers he ordered, this letter is part of the Thomas Jefferson Papers at the Library of Congress and can be read here: https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/99-01-02-4818
I have also read another legend that the Wallflower is a symbol of faith in adversity. I love that! The Scottish legend is of a beautiful maiden who was imprisoned in a castle and fell to her death from a lofty turret. She was re-born as a Wallflower.
Of course, the way I know of the word "wallflower" is as the person who at a dance stands against the wall because they are too shy, introverted, or with social anxiety to dance. It seems this meaning of the word dates back to at least 1820. I think I could be a wallflower!
2024
It is interesting to see how the flowers open up from the green buds that start out purple.
This is the first sighting of a bud and what it looks like at this stage.
