In full flower in early March is Cardamine quinquefolia, better known as the Five-leaf Black Sea toothwort. This extremely showy spring ephemeral can spread to 8′ wide in 10 years…if grown in rich, organic soils. Like most spring ephemerals, it’s dormant by early May in NC, so be sure to underplant with later emergers like hostas and ferns. This amazing perennial, which hails from Southern Europe to Northern Iran, is a winner of the Royal Horticulture Society’s Award of Garden Merit. Both the foliage and rhizomes are edible, adding a horseradish-like taste, according to those who have indulged. Hardiness is Zone 5a-8b.
Love this plant! I live in MN which has slightly alkaline soil pH 7.5. Would it tolerate that? I know the East coast has mostly acidic soils and I always hesitate to order from you because I don’t know if a given plant will tolerate a wider range of soil. It would be very helpful if you could mention this in your plant descriptions. Secondly, I have planted a stinzen garden in my front lawn and this could be a great addition if it goes dormant by mid May. What is the dormancy timeline?
Most cardamine prefer soils near neutral, so while we cant say with certainly, our best guess is that it would perform fine in your pH.
This cardamine looks great. I’ll have to order a few to try. And–the name! Black Sea toothwort! I want to be able to tell my gardening friends that’s what I am growing. Lots of cachet. But, speaking of names, I just got an email from you about the greatness of false indigo. Can we please stop dubbing plants “false”? They are not false; that’s just a label from lazy humans. Call them Baptisias!!! Yes, I am cranky this morning but you, have a nice day!
Great point, but the name Pseudo (false) has been used in taxonomic work for centuries. The same followed over to common names. We don’t disagree, but it’s a big ship to turn around at this point.