Spring gentian

How to recognise it

Habit

Low perennial 3–10 cm tall, with small leaf rosettes that form loose cushions through short rhizomes.

Leaf

Small, oval to lance-shaped, 1–2.5 cm, smooth and dark green, in a rosette against the ground; one or two pairs of smaller leaves on the short stem.

Flower

One flower per stem, from April to June (into summer in the mountains). A long, narrow tube opening into five flat, azure-blue lobes, 1.5–2.5 cm across in total, with small teeth between the lobes.

Fruit/Seed

A narrow capsule inside the withered flower, with many tiny seeds.

Roots

Fine roots and short creeping rhizomes; the plant is shallow-rooted.

Confusion with

Trumpet gentian (Gentiana acaulis and relatives) has much larger, bell-shaped flowers 4–6 cm long. Alpine gentian (Gentiana nivalis) is annual, does not form rosettes with rhizomes and has much smaller flowers.

Flowering: April–June

Why grow it?

• One of the most beautiful blue flowers you can have in a garden, in April–May, early in the season.
• The long flower tube offers nectar to butterflies and long-tongued bumblebees.
• Small in size: it fits in a rock garden, a stone trough or a pot on a sunny patio.
• The flowers open in sunshine and close in dull weather and at night: fun to watch.
• A piece of alpine flora in your garden, without taking plants from the wild.

Spring gentian: where does it grow best?

• In the wild in mountain meadows and pastures, limestone grassland and stony slopes, often on limestone, up to more than 2500 m in the Alps; in the Burren in Ireland almost at sea level.
• Full sun, in open, short vegetation: the plant cannot stand competition from tall plants.
• Poor, limy, well-drained soil that nevertheless never dries out: loam with plenty of grit or limestone chippings.
• In the garden: a rock garden, a stone trough, a gravel garden or a pot, with cool roots between stones.

Goes well with

• Wild thyme: A low, fragrant cushion with pink flowers in summer, for the same sunny, poor spot.
• Common rock-rose: Yellow flowers in summer, after the gentian, on dry, limy soil.
• Kidney vetch: Yellow flower heads for bumblebees; grows in the same limestone grassland in the wild.
• Houseleek: Fleshy rosettes that look good all year in a rock garden or trough.

Spring gentian: when and how to plant it?

1. Buy spring gentians from a nursery specialising in alpines or rock plants. Never dig plants up in the mountains: they are protected in many countries and rarely survive.
2. Plant in March–April or in September, in a mix of loam, a little compost and an equal amount of grit or limestone chippings.
3. Plant at the same depth as in the pot, firm in and spread a layer of fine grit around the rosette so the neck stays dry.
4. Leave 10–15 cm between plants; a small group of three to five looks best.
5. You can also sow: sow fresh seed in autumn in a pot of gritty seed compost, barely cover it and leave it outside over winter. Germination is erratic and sometimes takes more than a year.
6. Water regularly after planting: the soil must never dry out completely in spring and summer.

Care

Water

Keep the soil evenly moist in spring and summer and water in dry spells. No watering in winter.

Feeding

Not needed. On poor soil the plant stays compact and flowers best.

Weeding

Weed carefully by hand around the plant: grass and other plants quickly overgrow it.

Grit layer

Top up the layer of grit around the rosette every spring: it keeps the neck dry and the roots cool.

Renewal

In gardens spring gentian often lives only a few years. Sow or buy new plants from time to time.

Tip: Plant spring gentian in a stone trough filled with gritty soil and stand it on a low wall or table: that way you can easily keep an eye on moisture, slugs and weeds, and see the blue flowers up close.

Pruning and mowing

When: Pruning is not needed. In March, just clear away dead leaves and debris around the rosette.

How:

• Leave the faded flowers if you want to collect seed; otherwise you can snip them off after flowering.
• Remove fallen tree leaves from the plant: underneath them it soon rots.
• Do not cut off green leaves: the small rosettes need all their leaves.

Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Seed

Sow fresh seed in autumn in a pot of gritty compost, barely cover it and leave it outside over winter. It germinates in spring, sometimes only a year later.

Division

After flowering, in June, carefully separate a few rosettes with roots from a healthy cushion and replant them straight away. It does not always succeed.

Spring gentian: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to −30 °C.

• The plant remains as a small green rosette above ground; in the mountains it overwinters under a thick layer of snow.
• Very hardy, to about −30 °C. Cold, wet soil is more dangerous than frost.
• In a trough or pot: in winter stand it against a wall or under an overhang so the soil does not get waterlogged.

Diseases and pests

• Slugs: They like to eat the rosettes and flower buds. A layer of sharp grit around the plant helps; check in the evening.
• Fading away: In gardens the plant often lives only a few years. Give it poor, free-draining soil, full sun and no competition, and sow new plants in good time.
• Rot: In wet winters the neck of the rosette rots. Plant in gritty soil with a layer of grit around the plant.
• Being smothered: Grass, moss and taller plants smother the plant. Weed regularly and carefully by hand.
• Drying out: In hot summers the shallow roots dry out quickly. Water in dry spells and keep the roots cool between stones.

Through the year

• March: Clear dead leaves and debris around the rosette. Top up the grit.
• April: Start of flowering: the first blue stars.
• May: Full flower. Keep an eye out for slugs.
• June: Last flowers. Divide plants after flowering.
• July: Seed ripens. Water in dry spells.
• August: Do not let the soil dry out. Weed.
• September: Planting time. Sow fresh seed in pots outside.
• October: Remove fallen leaves from the plant.
• November: Shelter the trough or pot from heavy rain.
• December: Dormant. The small green rosette overwinters.

Did you know?

• In the Burren, a limestone region in the west of Ireland, spring gentian grows almost at sea level, alongside plants otherwise found mainly high in the mountains or around the Mediterranean.
• The flowers open in sunshine and close in dull weather and at night, which protects the nectar and pollen from rain.
• The species name verna means ‘of spring’: in the mountains it is one of the first flowers to open after the snow melts.