Tidewater Gardening
“sealing wounds,” which was why the perennial received the common name ~ Solomon’s Seal. For more information on this interesting perennial check out the Perennial Plant Society at www.perennialplant.org. I am excited that spring is just around the corner. We did have a somewhat mild winter, which is a mixed blessing. Because of a lack of an extended cold period, trees and shrubs in the landscape did not experience any winter damage. On the other hand, because our landscapes did not experience those periods of extended cold temperatures we are going to see more insect and weed problems in the garden. A cold, hard winter goes a long way to kill overwintering garden insect pests, both in the adult and juvenile forms. And a lack of a hard freeze in the soil will result in more
Smooth Solomon’s Seal (biflorum) hance your walk along a pathway on a spring morning. An added use is that the variegated foliage is attractive in flower arrangements. Solomon’s Seal is also deer resistant, easy to grow and will reach a height of 18 to 24 inches. It is a slow grower and spreads by rhizomes to form extensive colonies over time. I always wondered if its name, Solomon’s Seal, had some Biblical connection. According to the Perennial Plant Society, the common name Solomon’s Seal can have several origins. The first is that the scar that remains on the rootstock after the leaf stalks die off in the fall resembles the seal impressed on wax on documents in the past. The second source is that John Gerard, the English botanist and herbalist, suggested that the powdered roots were an excellent remedy for broken bones. He also felt that the plant had the capacity for
Viable weed seeds will germinate. 84