Culver's Root is an elegant plant with stems extending 3 to 6 feet high. They are topped with clusters of creamy white flowers in erect candelabra style with spikes extending above dark green leaves arranged in groups of 3 to 8. This plant will provide a dramatic show when massed for effect or planted in a meadow garden with Echinacea (Purple Coneflower), Rudbeckia (Sweet Black-eyed Susan), Solidago (Rigid Goldenrod), and Monarda (Wild Bergamot).
RANGE & HABITAT: Culver's Root plants prefer rich moist soil in full sun to light shade, but will tolerate a dry site once established. Native Veronicastrum virginicum wildflower is an elegant plant occurring naturally in glades, rocky open woods, and prairies from Georgia to Texas, North to New York, West Virginia, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and introduced in Massachusetts. Culver's root occurs in moist to mesic black soil prairies, sand prairies, openings and edges of woodlands, thickets, savannas, and swampy meadows along rivers and ditches. This plant is not often seen in highly disturbed habitats.
CULTIVATION: Culver's Root seeds should be planted outside in fall/winter either in seed flats covered with window screen or can be planted directly in the flower bed. Culver's Root seeds are very tiny and should be scattered on the soil surface. Germination is improved after a pretreatment of 3 to 4 weeks of cold moist stratification or when planted outside in fall or early winter. Growth is best in rich loamy soil, although some sand or clay is tolerated.
DESCRIPTION: This native perennial plant is up to 5' tall and unbranched, except near the inflorescence. The central stem is round and smooth. They have no scent. The blooming period usually occurs from early to mid-summer and lasts about a month. The tiny seeds can be carried several feet away from the mother plant by the wind. The root system consists of a central taproot and some rhizomes, which enable vegetative reproduction.
