Polemonium reptans 'Stairway to Heaven'
Common: Greek valerian — PP15187Polemonium 'Stairway to Heaven' PP15187 - 72 per flat
- Height: 15"-18"
- Spread: 12"
- Spacing: 12"
- Hardiness Zone(s): 4-8
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Plant Details
This excellent variegated selection of P. reptans was selected by Bill Cullina of The New England Wild Flower Society. A good plant for shade or a sunny edge (with adequate moisture). Imagine, a variegated Polemonium that actually lives! This native groundcover is very popular, and its royalties benefit the Garden in the Woods and their plant and habitat conservation.
Characteristics & Attributes
Exposure
- Full Shade
- Part Sun
Soil Moisture Needs
- Moist
- Average
Green Infrastructure
- Woodland
Wetland Indicator Status
- Falcutative Upland (FACU)
Plug Type
- Landscape Plug™
For Animals
- Deer Resistant
- Songbird-friendly
Attributes
- Native to North America
- Groundcover
- Ornamental Foliage
Season of Interest (Flowering)
- Late Spring / Early Summer
Propagation Type
- Tissue culture
Care & Maintenance
Best in moist, humus-rich, well-drained soil in part to full shade.
Interesting Notes
Growing up to 1’ tall, this free-flowering woodland native has delicate light blue flowers topping ladder-like foliage in late spring. Polemonium reptans is a good light-textured groundcover in areas with average to moist soils, thriving in light shade beneath deciduous trees. Blooming in April through to May, the flowers range in color from light purple to light pink and form in delicate clusters atop the fresh green foliage. A natural partner with creeping Phlox and ferns, this is a wonderful and unexpected addition to the spring shade garden.
Polemonium reptans is found in moist, deciduous forests or along streambanks from New York to Minnesota and south to Georgia and Arkansas. It does best in moist, humus-rich, well-drained soil in part to full shade. A sweet spring wildflower, the green foliage persists through the growing season and is an easy to grow groundcover that spreads by shallow rhizome. When placed in a happy location, creeping Jacob’s Ladder self-sows. In periods of drought, plant will go into dormancy.
We find Polemonium reptans to be deer-resistant and enjoy how it provides an early season nectar sources to native pollinators. Visited by a wide assortment of native bees, Andrena polemonii is of note as a specialist bee that only feeds on plants from Polemonium genus. In addition, several moth larvae use the foliage as forage.