Common Name: Virginia Bluebells

Latin Name: Mertensia virginica

Height: 2 feet tall

Duration: Perennial, Ephemeral

Bloom Color: Pink to purple buds, Blue flower

Bloom Time: April - May

Water Use: Medium-Wet, Medium

Soil: Rich, moist, well-drained, and sometimes rocky soils

Light Requirement: Partial Shade, Shade

Spreads via underground rhizomes to create colonies, also by seed

Host to caterpillars of the Nessus Sphinx moth

Pollinators: Bees, especially female Bumblebees that fly in early spring, will often be seen visiting the flowers. Only the largest bees have the ability to push their way up the tube.  The flowers are cross-pollinated by long-tongued bees primarily, including honeybees, bumblebees, Anthophorid bees (Anthophora spp., Synhalonia spp.), and mason bees (Osmia spp.); these insects obtain nectar and/or collect pollen. Other visitors of the flowers include the Giant Bee Fly (Bombylius major), butterflies, skippers, and Sphinx moths, including a hummingbird moth (Hemaris thysbe). In some areas, the Ruby-Throated Hummingbird has been observed to visit the flowers

Other Information:  Deer resistant. Foliage dies back by mid-summer (ephemeral).