Native Jacob’s ladder
I am determined to plant only native plants in my Mpls front yard (my personal effort to make a difference for saving the birds and the bees). I’m starting from scratch. Here’s my question. I have a small plot of Jacob’s ladder in my side yard that I was planning on splitting into the front yard. I was just reading that there is a non-native variety, Polemonium caeruleum. The native is Polemonium reptans. How do I figure out which one I have? I’m attaching a picture of my plant. My plant detective app calls it Greek velarian. Not sure what to think...
Hennepin County Minnesota
1 Response
The MN native is also called Greek Valarian.
https://www.friendsofthewildflowergarden.org/pages/plants/jacobsladder.html
https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/woodland/plants/jacob_ladder.htm
https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Polemonium+caeruleum
The non native is not reliably hardy here, blooms in June or July and has larger flowers. I encourage you to join the local Wild Ones Chapter for advice and resources.