Rock Harlequin

Capnoides sempervirens Origin: Maine Improvement status: Wild Seeds per packet: ~200 BOTANICAL SAMPLE - NOT GERMINATION TESTED Life cycle: Biennial This tough native wildflower (native from Alaska to Newfoundland, and south along the Appalachians) will grow in rocky and gravelly places with minimal soil. Their small delicate blooms bring some color to the harshest spots in the landscape. No joke: you can grow this plant out of the cracks in a rocky wall or sidewalk. A cousin of the famous garden plants known as "bleeding hearts" — both in the same sub-family of the poppy family — this is a biennial species. First year plants take the form of leafy rosette of pretty blue tinged leaves, while second year plants provide delicate fairy-like pink and yellow flowers. Seeds require 30+ days of cold moist stratification, so either sow outdoors in fall/winter or stratify in the fridge for 30 days. Enjoys full sun to part shade. Our seed comes from Aaron Parker of Edgewood Nursery in Maine.