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One of the smaller species. The lilac flowers are a delight. Makes a tiny carpet of rounded leaves that can just about compete with the liverworts.
I am very fond of Soldanella but they are species of the snow-melt zone and they don't grow very vigorously in my equably warm climate.
Slugs are also very fond of them, and they grow enormous here. The result is that I tend to grow Soldanella species for a short time,
fatten up a slug or two, swear I will never do it again and then repeat the process. I bought this one at the AGS show in Exeter last year (2005). It has grown well, flowered well and is undoubtedly doomed. Plants of the World online says: "The native range of this species is W. Carpathians. It is a perennial and grows primarily in the subalpine or subarctic biome." Writing about the North Midland AGS Show in 2022, the editor of the Bulletin said: "Less frequently exhibited than their many admirers would wish, in my experience even the readily raised from fresh seed Soldanella carpatica, shown here by Clare Oates, is not easy to grow, at least to the standard of this fine example. It can be a martyr to slugs, snails and aphids: Clare administers a dose of systemic insecticide at the start of the season. Native to Slovakia and Poland, growing in damp meadows, in sun or partial shade at altitudes from 500-3,000m, the Carpathian Snowbell, as it has been popularly dubbed, is tolerant of most soils – acid, alkaline or neutral. In cultivation it is best shaded from midday sun, in a cool, damp spot, and regularly divided to maintain its vigour. " |
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| 17th April 2006 | ||
