Right now the culver’s root in my yard are cute one-foot-tall plants with beautiful ovate leaves. If they do well over the next few years, however, I should expect these plants to reach 5 or even 6 foot. That is if they tolerate the rather sandy soils – they prefer rich and loamy soil. They are now showing slender 6 to 8 inch spikes of little white flowers, and will probably bloom for a few more weeks. While this makes the plant look like a candelabra, the leaves are where it is at with this perennial – they are a beautiful lighter green and they seem to be unaffected by insects. The joe pye weed right next to it has sustained major leaf damage from leaf chewing or leaf cutting insects, but Veronicastrum virginicum remains untouched.
The plant is named after an American 18th century physician, Dr. Culver, who prescribed the plant as a laxative.
Veronicastrum virginicum will reproduce by both wind carried seeds and rhizomes. It prefers sun to partial sun, and should do well on the edge of your woodland garden
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