CELANDINE SEEDS

Chelidonium majus flore pleno

Greater Celandine. An ancient medicinal that is now grown primarily as an ornamental. The handsome foliage fills in bare spots here and there throughout the garden and is festooned with lovely sparkling yellow flowers in spring and summer. The deep roots make this species extraordinarily hardy and drought-tolerant. These same roots also make it difficult in the extreme to remove. Plant mindfully.

This rare selection features an abundance of lovely double flowers. We found these plants used to great effect alongside our beloved Yellow Fumitory at the Rotary Botanical Garden in Wisconsin last year, both growing in dappled shade on a rocky hillside. Not only will Celandine thrive in dry shade, it grows quite happily almost anywhere. And the seeds survive in the soil forever. One garden on our farm was at least a decade prior the perennial flower garden of a previous occupant, and though it had been mown grass for many years before we dug it up for a trial garden, Celandine appeared everywhere as soon as the soil was turned. A curse and a blessing, as it is truly a pain to remove, but so very lovely when it appears where it can be appreciated. Once you have Celandine in your garden, you will always have Celandine in your garden.

Celandine is a member of the Papaveraceae family and is rich in powerful alkaloids. Long used medicinally, even well into the modern era, herbal preparations of this species are now known to cause the occasional case of hepatitis or hemolytic anaemia. We do not recommend ingestion of this species for any reason. The bright orange latex produced by these plants has been used in the treatment of warts and ringworm and these applications may indeed have merit and are only mildly toxic.

These seeds require at least light stratification to germinate. Seeds may be sown outdoors in autumn or in very early spring, when they will still have the chance to endure several freeze and thaw cycles. We prefer to sow them into pots of moist soil placed outdoors to overwinter in a sheltered location, such as a screen porch or cold barn with bright indirect light. Cover pots with plastic to maintain moisture. The seeds will begin to germinate in early spring. Germination is erratic and takes place over the course of several weeks. As this species is wont to create a bank of seeds in the soil, at least some seeds will not germinate in the first year and patient gardeners may want to hold these pots for the next year, or at least spill the contents of the pot into an area where the plants will be welcome. Once seeds have germinated, promptly prick out seedlings to grow on in individual deep 3" pots. Grow on in bright light at cool temperatures before hardening off and transplanting into the garden almost any time in spring, even as soon as the soil can be worked. Avoid allowing these plants to become rootbound in their pots.

Usually listed as a biennial, we observe these plants to be more often perennial in the Northeast. Even where they are short-lived they will self-sow reliably.

Packet contains at least 100 seeds.