Winter Aconite

I am putting in some last bulbs before the real winter weather sets in. Aconite is appealing to me due to its very early flowering.

- Does it consistently achieve dormancy during the summer? If so, when is this most likely to occur?

- How aggressively does it spread? And if so is it easy to remove unwanted plants to keep it in check?

Hello, I bought this plant last fall and installed it. Either I did a poor job or the company I bought it from supplied me with bum bulbs but only a few came up out of 25. Of the ones that did come up, the rabbits enjoyed some as a snack...So only 2 or 3 bloomed, very disappointing. Nonetheless, I've read that they spread nicely by seed and since the bulbs are only a few inches below the surface, I would imagine it would be relatively easy to remove unwanted plants (you can give them to me :) I'll pay postage). The ones that came up for me all went dormant as soon as it got warmer, probably mid May or so.

I don't know how early you mean. There are a lot of early bloomers that come up without asking: Hyacinth, Muscari, Reticulated Iris, Narcissus, followed by Tulips and more. Please don't forget about Hellebore and all of the shade garden friends.

A lot of early bloomers grow and flower even when there is snow on the ground.

Yeah, I'm a big snow crocus fan myself. We do have several Hellebores too but only one bloomed last season as all the plants were young. We also have Cyclamen that bloom in February/March. My favorite thing though is our Arnold's Promise Witch hazel.

For me, here in zone 3, winter aconite is an extremely tiny plant, only about an inch tall, with negligible inclination to spread by seed, even after about 15 years. Yes, they are "consistently dormant" by early summer, as is their nature. If you're worried about the yellowing foliage, it's a non-issue here, as the plants are so tiny. Out on the west coast (zone 7-8), they get much bigger - up to about 6" tall - but even so, I doubt very much that the yellowing foliage needs any special consideration there.
If they did happen to spread for you, you could just dig up the patch and thin the corms (if that's the word?)

I always read that winter aconite is a toughie because it likes moist conditions, and if it dries out during shipment, it's toast. It isn't supposed to be an aggressive spreader, either, which would be nice.

The biggest problem is "bum bulbs". I gave up on snowflakes because it's another fussy bulb (best planted in the green) that never multiplied for me at all, and you need a million of them for any impact.

As mentioned, the winter aconite bulbs you purchase are often terribly dried out (they are such tiny bulbs), so your initial yield may be meager. But, they seed and divide wonderfully, and are soon all over the place; but they are such tiny little things that they are never a big problem (besides, they're just so darn cute). In our garden, they love to seed out into our bark paths, where there's a little more sun, and the decomposed bark makes a nice, loose soil.

i bought a dozen off ebay, they were small bulbs with a few large one tossed in. The person sent me 15 (yea) ...... only one bloomed this year, but all 15 came up. I believe they are doing fine and look forward to a nice show next year.

They came to me in damp paper towel with instructions to plant ~~NOW!

The ground I have them in is constantly damp..... dig a hole and its nearly mud, get up from the ground and your knees are damp, when I cut the grass~~~ I may even see a squirt of water. My house is higher up a ridge and there is bog at the very bottom of my property, they are about 10-15 feet before the bog. They receive morning and afternoon sun with dapple after 2pm.

I love their leaf and enjoy the early yellow bloom.... which they did in April here in Michigan.
Hope this helps anyone trying to make these work for them.

Terrific that you are giving the rest of us real information on growing them successfully. Not very many have actual experience with them so this really helps.

Thanks!

I had three small clumps of them come up this spring. I was really surprised since they did so poorly last spring. They were pretty and two have a bunch of seeds developing on them. The rabbits left them along this year thanks to Milorganite. I'm going to collect the seeds when they mature. Anyone have an idea how to sow them so they'll sprout next season?

Seq: I have a nice patch -- probably too late to dig any up for you for the swap, but if you remind me I'll try -- otherwise I can for next year -- again, please remind me.

Sounds good, I'd take some. When do you want the reminder?

LOL -- now is ok! I couldn't sleep last night but knew I wouldn't remember anything! If I can still see where it is, I'll cut you a clump of soil with winter aconite in it. You should replace the clump of soil like a block -- don't tease it apart. It needs shade. I am careful to keep other plants off the area (not saying you won't get a gift weed or two from me).

Oohhh...maybe that's why mine didn't do so well. I didn't know they needed shade. I've got a good area for a small clump. Thanks :)

They definitely like shade. And probably not toooo dry either. I also think they are hard to transplant, which is why I suggest not breaking up the clump of dirt I'll bring you.

Sounds good to me. The ones that did bloom for me this year went to seed and I sprinkled them about. Hopefully I'll have some volunteers next year.

They are just slow to establish. I recommend keeping them in a discreet area so you don't end up digging them up by mistake!

I think I have a few good spots, I'll have to decide which would be best.

I ordered some winter Aconite last fall and planted some underneath a Virburnum shrub and some just out in the open with good drainage..
None of the ones came up around the Viburnum. I had a couple come up just out in the open with good drainage. They looked happy.
They are in full sun. So, I guess I will see what happens next spring. They sure were cute.

They are a bit hard to get started -- they need to be planted very fresh. But they will reseed and slowly colonize when happy. Mine are in fairly deep shade....

Happ, I sprinkled my seeds around the existing plants so hopefully I'll have some volunteers next year.

Sequoia: I'm sure you'll have volunteers. The pot of dirt I brought you ought to be full of winter aconite, but -- true confession -- I waited too long to dig it up and all evidence of WA had disappeared, so I dug where I thought I remembered they had been. So if you only get weeds next year....

Lol....nice. We'll see I guess :)

The bulbs I had ordered ..... came to me with a little green on them, they were loose and were wrapped in wet paper towel, placed in a baggy. they seem to be doing well and I think this method of shipping worked well.

Best of luck to all with these little darlings.

OH....and mine do have morning shade..afternoon sun with late afternoon to evening dapple.