Greater celandine

How to recognise it

Growth habit

Loose, branched plant of 30–80 cm with brittle stems.

Leaves

Pinnate, with 5–7 lobed leaflets; soft, green above, bluish grey beneath, slightly hairy.

Flowers

Yellow, 1.5–2.5 cm, with four petals and many stamens, in loose clusters of 2–6 flowers; April to September.

Fruit

A narrow, upright capsule of 3–5 cm holding black seeds with a white appendage.

Stem

Snaps easily, releasing bright orange sap; slightly hairy, especially at the nodes.

Look-alikes

Lesser celandine shares part of the name but belongs to the buttercup family, with heart-shaped leaves and glossy yellow flowers with 8–12 petals in March–April. The orange sap is the surest sign of greater celandine.

Flowering: April–September · Pruning: March and July

Why grow it?

• Flowers for months, from April to September, and produces plenty of pollen for bees and hoverflies.
• The seeds carry a white appendage that attracts ants: they drag the seeds to their nest and so sow the plant.
• Grows in difficult places where little else will: at the foot of walls, in dry shade under hedges and between stones.
• Fresh bluish-green leaves that often last through mild winters.
• A plant that has followed people for centuries, at home around houses, walls and villages.

Greater celandine: where does it grow best?

• In the wild: the foot of walls and hedges, village edges, ruins, churchyards, verges and woodland edges, often on nitrogen-rich soil.
• In the garden: half shade or shade, but also sun if the soil is not too dry.
• Fertile, humus-rich soil; also tolerates dry soil between stones.
• Choose a spot where its self-seeding does not matter, such as a shady corner or the edge of a hedge.

Goes well with

• Garlic mustard: White flowers in April along the same hedge; food plant of the orange-tip butterfly.
• Herb-Robert: Small pink flowers and reddish leaves in the same shade by a wall or hedge.
• Ground-ivy: Small purple flowers as ground cover at its feet.
• Ivy: Evergreen on the same wall or hedge; together a real piece of village flora.

Greater celandine: when and how to plant it?

1. It usually arrives by itself, thanks to the ants. If you want to plant it deliberately, buy a plant from a native plant nursery. Never dig up plants from the wild.
2. Plant in March–April or September–October, 40 cm apart.
3. You can sow fresh seed in summer or autumn on the surface of loose soil; it usually germinates in spring.
4. Water after planting; after that it looks after itself.
5. Wear gloves: the orange sap stains the skin brown and can irritate it.

Care

Watering

Only at planting; established plants tolerate drought well.

Feeding

Not needed; ordinary garden soil is more than enough.

Limiting self-seeding

After the first flush of flowers, cut off the stems with seed pods so it seeds less.

Weeding

Unwanted seedlings are easy to pull up while small; on older plants the root sometimes snaps.

Gloves

Always work with gloves and wash your hands afterwards.

Tip: Looking for a plant for dry shade at the foot of a wall? Greater celandine is one of the few that flowers there for months.

Pruning and mowing

Pruning months: March and July.

When: Cut back after the first flowering in July; clear old stems in March.

How:

• In July cut the flowering stems back to 10–15 cm: the plant regrows and flowers again.
• Leave some growth standing in autumn; old stems and leaves shelter small creatures.
• In March cut away anything dead before the new leaves come.

Caution: Wear gloves and keep the orange sap away from your eyes.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Seed

Self-seeds readily, helped by ants. Sow fresh seed in summer or autumn; it usually germinates in spring.

Transplanting

Move young seedlings with a good root ball in spring; older plants with a long root establish less easily.

Greater celandine: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to −25 °C.

• In mild winters the bluish-green leaves often stay; in hard frost they die back and the plant regrows in spring.
• Fully hardy to about −25 °C.
• Leave dead stems lying or standing as shelter for small creatures.

Diseases and pests

• Too many seedlings: Cut off the seed pods after the first flowering and weed out young plants.
• Aphids: Black aphids on the shoot tips; let ladybirds and hoverflies do their work or hose them off.
• Stained hands: The orange sap stains the skin brown and can irritate it. Wear gloves.
• Children and pets: Teach children not to touch or taste the plant or its sap.

Through the year

• March: Clear old stems.
• April: First yellow flowers.
• May: Full flower; bees and hoverflies on the pollen.
• June: Flowering; first seed pods. Ants carry seeds away.
• July: Cut back after the first flush of flowers.
• August: Second flush of flowers.
• September: Last flowers. Plant or sow.
• October: Weed out seedlings where they are not wanted.
• November: The leaves often stay green.
• December: Dormant.

Did you know?

• The scientific name comes from the Greek chelidon, ‘swallow’: the plant was said to start flowering when the swallows return and to wither when they leave.
• According to an old legend, already told by Pliny, swallows used the sap to open the eyes of their young.
• The Dutch name ‘stinkende gouwe’ (stinking celandine) refers to the unpleasant smell of the crushed leaves and sap.