Polemonium Species, Jacob's Ladder

I grew this plant in Anchorage, Alaska, where it seeded aggressively. Pretty plant with hosta, yarrow and ferns, but I grew to hate it t...Read Morehere because it was so hard to control. My soil was moist and peaty which it clearly adored. I impulsively bought a variegated form and it did not seem as aggressive. My plants were about two feet in height and nicely full. They liked the light shade offered by the taller ferns and yarrow around them.

I am now trying it out in Philadelphia, PA in virtually the same soil and plant combination, but with a dramatic difference in climate. I've already discovered how easy things reseed here so I know that I will have to grab those seed heads before they fill my yard with plantlets.

I agree that this plant can be a tough one to grow. I had no success growing it in clay soil. It just stayed small and some died. I mo...Read Moreved the remaining one to a well drained rich soiled sight and it has flourished.

I grew two of these from seed. One didn't survive the summer in my clay soil, the other returned this spring with a vengence! I thought i...Read Moret was a 2 to 3 footer, but mine has reached 4 feet tall! I'm waiting for it to stop flowering so I can cut it back. -Update- I cut it back to 12", but left some seedpods, and it is flowering again- mid July.

Mine barely seems to survive but has come back 2 yrs in zone 6.
Even when it was healthy- the flowers are very small and not very ...Read Moreshowy, Personally i find the foliage to be quite ugly and resemble a weed.
Not a easy grower!

I love the plant, but every one I've had died.

This plant grows well in semi shade. The plant I have is a self setter. I have no idea where it came from. It stands erect and has a heig...Read Moreht of 1 metre. It is very showy and the flowers are light blue in colour. It is growing beside astilbes, clematis and hydrangeas. It obviously enjoys a well watered spot.

Lovely plant - we have this growing in moist, not well drained, clayish soil next to a Brunnera, and they're both thriving. And it's not ...Read Morepestered by snails/slugs, which is a bonus.

I bought one plant in early spring and it grew well for several months until the southern summer began. In spite of being planted in ligh...Read Moret shade, well mulched, and watered often, the plant died. However, I liked the plant enough that I am going to try again!

This plant loves my garden -- it's invasive, trying to run over well-established hostas, peonies, and herbs; I'm having a tough time kill...Read Moreing it off.

Self propagrates occasionally. Grows wild in parts of AK, and is a looked-for wild flower in the early spring. Grows on sunny mountain...Read More sides and doesn't seem to require a lot of water. It is blue up here with small and larger specimens.

There was a white cultivar in my garden when I moved in. The flowers are a little weedy-looking and grow on very long stems--some over fi...Read Moreve feet. The foliage is the same as the blue cultivars and very pretty. It is very vigorous and fights its way up through a mat of bishops weed that I have been unable to eradicate.

Grows very easily from seed. I think every seed that I winter sowed germinated. Has grown steadily all summer. Didn't bloom the first ...Read Moreyear. Looking forward to blooms next summer. In my yard it seems to grow the quickest in partial shade this year as we have had a lot of rain and very few sunny days overall. THe plants in more shade have been slower to grow.

Four year old plant did not survive very cold winter which has frequent days and nights that hit between 0 and -20F. Not as hardy as not...Read Moreed in the entry here.

Splendid choice for cutting gardens, border edgings and rock gardens. Brightens shady areas. Plant in a well-drained locatoin and water...Read More generously. Protect from strong afternoon sun.

A handsome plant with long heads of hazy-blue showy flowers and finely divided foliage. When ripe, each anther bursts, releasing a mass o...Read Moref bright orange pollen, contrasting vividly with the blue of the petals. Creeping underground stems propagate the plant so that, given time, it forms extensive clumps. The common name derives from the ladder-like pattern made by the numerous parallel, narrow leaflets. A distant relative of the garden Phlox, Jacob's-ladder is widely cultivated for ornament, although many plants are the rarer white form, or an introduced variant with larger flowers. Until the Nineteenth Century in some parts of Europe, the species was thought to be effective in the treatment of syphilis and rabies. It was used in more ancient times against dysentry and toothache.

Grows wild in England. It is a woodland plant for the shaded garden or for naturalizing in moist, leafy soil.