The perfect spring perennial to beautify your shady flowerbeds

BET À DAY

In the spring, Solomon's seals lend a lot of elegance and softness to shade gardens thanks to their gracefully arching stems that bear small, drooping white and green flowers. Most species then produce dark blue—sometimes red—fruits that usually persist until early fall.

Solomon's seals slowly form dense, bushy clumps over time, almost impenetrable by weeds. These perennials -form beautiful associations with low-lying plants such as asaret -wild ginger, brunneras, epimedium and lungwort.

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Solomon's seals are perfectly at home in partial shade or in the shade and, if the soil is constantly cool, these plants also tolerate more sustained sunshine. On the other hand, they are among the few plants that manage to establish themselves under the crown of mature maples and spruces, where there is never any sun. When all the plants forfeit under a tree, Solomon's seal resists!

Although Solomon's seals are undemanding, they grow best if care is taken to provide them with rich soil with good water and nutrient holding capacity. It is therefore suggested to plant them in a soil composed of half existing clay soil and half compost. You can then spread compost at their base every year following planting. This becomes downright essential when Solomon's seals are competing with tree roots. You must make an annual intake of about 2 to 3 cm thick. It is best never to hoe the soil around them to avoid damaging their rhizomes.

Easy division

Solomon's seals have rhizomes, which are actually underground stems that send out roots and aerial branches. A simple way to propagate Solomon's seals is to divide their rhizomes.

In the fall, all you have to do is extract the rhizomes from the ground and separate the young side shoots from the central part. Using pruners or a knife sterilized with rubbing alcohol, cut off young rhizomes over 5cm in length that have at least one well-formed bud.

Replant – then them in a soil well amended with compost at the same depth as was the mother plant, about 4 or 5 cm below the surface of the soil.

Here is the description of some species and cultivars of Solomon's Seals that will do wonders in your garden this spring. 

Fragrant Solomon's Seal “Variegatum”

Height: 80 cm

Width: 30 cm

Flowering: white and green at the end of May and in June

Foliage: green edged with creamy white

Sunshine: sun, partial shade, shade

Hardiness: zone 4

The fragrant Solomon's seal “Variegatum”, including young stems are red, produces tender green foliage finely edged with creamy white. 

Scented Solomon's Seal

Height: 80cm

Width: 30 cm

Flowering: white and green at the end of May and in June

Sunshine: sun, partial shade, shade

Hardiness: zone 4

Of all the species, it is the fragrant Solomon's seal, a plant native to Europe and Asia hardy in zone 4, which is the most sold in North American garden centers and nurseries. The stems of the fragrant Solomon's seal are gracefully arching and bear small, pendulous, fragrant flowers in late spring. 

Fragrant Solomon's seal 'Byakko'

Height: 80 cm

Width: 30 cm

Flowering: white and green at the end of May and in June

Foliage: green variegated with white

Sunshine: sun, partial shade, shade

Hardiness: zone 4

Solomon's seal 'Byakko' is similar to cultivar 'Variegatum', but its green leaves have white spots on their basal part, near the petioles. 

Solomon's seal – Whorled Solomon

Height: 90 cm

Width: 30 cm

Flowering: greenish white at the end of May and in June

Sunshine: sun, partial shade, light shade , medium shade, dense shade

Hardiness: zone 5

This is a very original Solomon's seal, native to Asia and Europe. Its straight stems – and not arching as in the case of most other species – carry narrow leaves arranged in whorls placed at equal distance from each other. At the base of the leaves, which are arranged in groups of three to five, are produced small white bells tinged with green. Then, towards the end of summer, berries of red color appear.