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Lungwort
Pulmonaria
Also comes in blue, pink and white.
Lungwort blooms from March through May.
Mature size, hardiness zones, sun and the trait tags were checked against named botanical sources for this plant. The bloom months and water need on this page were not.
Growing Lungwort
Plant it in part shade. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 3–8. Expect it to reach about 12 in tall and 1.6 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 2 years.
When to plant Lungwort
Plant Lungwort in early spring as soon as the soil is workable, or in early fall at least six weeks before your first frost, so roots establish in cool weather. For the middle of its hardy zones 3 to 8 range, spring means April to June and fall means August or September. Once settled, it blooms from March to May.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar: for the middle of its range, start with zone 5 in April.
Good to know about Lungwort
Curated from university extensions, botanic gardens and other primary sources, with the source named on every note.
Safety
Not certified safe: as a borage-family plant it carries pyrrolizidine alkaloids (hepatotoxic in quantity) and can cause stomach upset if eaten in large amounts. per NC State
Worth knowing
The flowers open pink and age through rose-violet to blue, so pink and blue blooms appear together on the very same cluster: the classic pink-and-blue look. per NC State and Clemson
Zone range varies by source
Most sources list zones 3a to 8b; Clemson (South Carolina) pushes it to 5 to 9. Its warm limit is set by summer heat and humidity, not winter cold. per NC State and Clemson
Grown for silver-spotted leaves
The real draw is the foliage: hairy leaves splashed with silver or white, sometimes so heavily spotted the leaf reads nearly solid silver. Often semi-evergreen, good spring to fall. per NC State
Powdery mildew, the common problem
Grayish-white patches on the leaves, brought on by both dry, drought-stressed soil and crowded, still air. Keep the soil evenly moist, space for airflow, and cut affected foliage back. per NC State and Iowa State
Deer and rabbit resistant
Both deer and rabbit resistant: the coarse, bristly-hairy leaves put browsers off, so it holds up in gardens where those animals graze. per NC State
Early-spring nectar for bees
Because it flowers when little else is open, the blooms are a valuable early food source for bees, flies and butterflies in late winter and early spring. per NC State
What pairs well with Lungwort
Good companions share its growing conditions and add something it lacks: an earlier or later bloom, a lower carpet in front, or structure through winter.
Goatsbeard
Shares part shade and moderate water; blooms in early summer as this one finishes; both offer pollinator forage, in different months; taller at 3.9 ft, for the layer behind it.
Spiderwort
Takes part sun to part shade and moderate water; blooms in early summer as this one finishes; both offer pollinator forage, in different months; blue sits close to purple on the wheel.
Lobelia
Takes part sun to part shade and moderate water; overlaps, then carries the display into early fall; both are strong pollinator plants; lower at 8 in, for the front of the border.
Summersweet
Shares part shade and moderate to high water; blooms in midsummer, extending the bed's season; both are strong pollinator plants, and they feed in different months; taller at 5.9 ft, for the layer behind it.
Flowering Tobacco
Takes part sun to part shade and moderate water; blooms in early summer as this one finishes; both offer pollinator forage, in different months; a soft color beside the purple.
Bigleaf Hydrangea
Takes part sun to part shade and moderate to high water; blooms in early summer as this one finishes; both offer pollinator forage, in different months; taller at 4.9 ft, for the layer behind it.
Monkshood
Takes part sun to part shade and moderate water; blooms in late summer, extending the bed's season; both offer pollinator forage, in different months; taller at 3.9 ft, for the layer behind it.
Fuchsia
Shares part shade and moderate water; blooms in early summer as this one finishes; both offer pollinator forage, in different months.
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