Great yellow gentian

How to recognise it

Habit

Large perennial that first forms a leaf rosette for a few years; then an upright, thick, unbranched flowering stem 0.5–1.5 m tall.

Leaf

Large, broadly elliptic, up to 30 cm long, blue-green and hairless, with five to seven prominent curved veins running to the tip. The leaves are opposite; the upper ones clasp the stem.

Flower

From June to August, in dense whorls in the axils of the upper leaf pairs. Each flower is golden yellow, 2–3 cm, and split almost to the base into five to nine narrow lobes, like a star.

Fruit/Seed

An elongated capsule with many small, flat seeds that ripen in autumn.

Roots

A thick, fleshy taproot that can reach more than a metre deep in old plants and tastes very bitter.

Confusion with

White false hellebore (Veratrum album), a very poisonous plant of the same mountain meadows. Its leaves are alternate, arranged all round the stem (not opposite), and hairy underneath; its flowers are greenish white. Mistaking false hellebore root for gentian root can cause serious poisoning.

Flowering: June–August · Pruning: March

Why grow it?

• An impressive sight: in summer a stem more than a metre tall with whorls of yellow stars.
• The open, star-shaped flowers offer easily reached nectar and pollen to bumblebees, bees, flies and beetles.
• Decorative even without flowers: the large, blue-green leaves with their deep veins stand out among finer foliage.
• Long-lived and faithful: once established, a plant stays in the same spot for decades.
• Rich in history: the bitter root has been used since ancient times, and still is for bitter liqueurs and aperitifs.
• A piece of mountain meadow in your garden, and a way to enjoy this species, often protected in the wild, without taking plants from nature.

Great yellow gentian: where does it grow best?

• In the wild in mountain meadows and pastures, hay meadows and open woodland edges, mainly at 700–2500 m, often on limestone.
• Full sun to light half shade; in the summer heat of the lowlands a spot with morning sun and some afternoon shade is ideal.
• Deep, moisture-retentive but well-drained loamy soil, preferably neutral to alkaline; the taproot must be able to go deep.
• Not in soil that stays waterlogged in winter, nor in poor, dry sand.
• In the garden: in a sunny border, a flower meadow on loam or a large rock garden, in a spot where it can stay undisturbed for years.

Goes well with

• Great masterwort: A mountain plant with pinkish-white flower heads that grows in the same mountain meadows.
• Lady’s mantle: Soft green leaves and small yellow-green flowers as a low foreground.
• Wood crane’s-bill: Violet-blue flowers in May–June; it is also a plant of mountain meadows.
• Field scabious: Lilac pincushions in summer for bees and butterflies, on the same sunny, limy soil.

Great yellow gentian: when and how to plant it?

1. Buy young plants in pots from a nursery for perennials or alpines. Never take plants or roots from the mountains.
2. Plant in March–April or in September–October. Choose a young plant: older plants with a long taproot establish poorly after moving.
3. Dig a deep hole of at least 40 cm, loosen the soil well and mix in some compost and, if needed, coarse sand.
4. Plant at the same depth as in the pot, firm in and water generously. Leave at least 60 cm between plants.
5. You can also sow: sow fresh seed in autumn in pots of seed compost and leave them outside over winter. The seed needs a cold period and germinates in spring.
6. Water regularly in dry spells during the first year. After that, do not move the plant again.

Care

Water

In dry spells during the first year. After that the deep taproot finds water itself; only water during long, hot droughts.

Feeding

Not needed. On poor soil a layer of compost in spring is enough.

Patience

For a few years a young plant forms only a leaf rosette. The first flowering stem appears only once the root is big enough.

Space

Keep tall, vigorous neighbours at a distance: the rosette needs light to build up strength.

Support

In a windy spot the heavy flowering stem may blow over. A cane or sturdy neighbours help.

Letting it seed

Let a few stems go to seed if you want to sow your own; collect the seed in autumn in a paper bag.

Tip: Always choose a young plant in a pot and give it its final spot straight away: great yellow gentian hates being moved, but left undisturbed it can stay there for decades.

Pruning and mowing

Pruning months: March.

When: In March, before the new leaves appear. The dry flowering stems can stay standing all winter.

How:

• Leave the faded stems with their seed capsules through autumn and winter: they look lovely with frost on them and insects shelter in them.
• In March, cut the dead stems and withered leaves off just above the ground.
• Mind the bud at the top of the root: that is where the new leaves come from. Do not cut into it.
• Don’t want seed? Then cut off the flowering stem after flowering, at the end of August.

Caution: Never dig around the plant: a damaged taproot recovers poorly.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Seed

The best method. Sow fresh seed in October–November in pots and stand them outside in the cold; it germinates in spring. Prick out the seedlings carefully and plant them out young. Expect several years before the first flowers.

Division

Not recommended: the taproot does not divide well and the plant recovers poorly.

Great yellow gentian: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to −30 °C.

• The leaves die back in autumn; the plant overwinters with a bud at the top of its thick root, at or just below ground level.
• Very hardy, to about −30 °C: in the mountains it lies under snow for months.
• The dry stems with seed capsules remain standing and give structure to the winter garden.
• Wet, compacted soil in winter is the greatest danger: the root can then rot.

Diseases and pests

• Slugs: In spring they eat young rosettes and emerging leaves. Pick them off in the evening and keep the ground around young plants open.
• Root rot: In heavy, wet soil the taproot rots. Ensure good drainage and do not plant in a hollow.
• No flowers: Usually just a matter of patience: young plants only flower after a few years. In too much shade it will not flower either.
• Confusion with false hellebore: In the mountains the very poisonous white false hellebore grows among the gentians. Never pick or dig up plants or roots yourself in the wild.

Through the year

• March: Cut off old stems and withered leaves.
• April: New blue-green leaves emerge. Planting time.
• May: The rosette grows; on older plants the flowering stem appears.
• June: Start of flowering.
• July: Full flower: bumblebees and bees on the yellow stars.
• August: Last flowers. Water during long droughts.
• September: Seed capsules ripen. Planting time.
• October: Collect seed and sow it straight away in pots outside.
• November: The leaves die back. Leave the stems standing.
• December: Dormant. The plant is safe underground.

Did you know?

• According to the Roman writer Pliny, the genus is named after Gentius, a king of Illyria in the second century BC, who is said to have discovered the plant’s properties.
• The root contains amarogentin, one of the bitterest natural substances known. That is why gentian root has been used for centuries in liqueurs, aperitifs and bitters.
• Unlike most gentians, great yellow gentian does not have blue, trumpet-shaped flowers, but wide-open yellow stars.