Epilobium angustifolium

Epilobium angustifolium: Magenta Spires That Love a Fresh Start

Rough ground, poor soil, a patch everybody gave up on? Fireweed moves right in. This native lights the place up with rosy magenta spikes that open from the bottom up, like an elevator that only goes TO THE PENTHOUSE.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Epilobium angustifolium (syn. Chamaenerion angustifolium)
• Common Name: Fireweed, Rosebay Willowherb
• Height: 120–150 cm (4–5 ft)
• Spread: 60–100 cm (2–3 ft), spreading further by rhizomes
• Flowers: Rosy magenta-purple, four-petalled, on long upright spikes that open from the bottom up. Fluffy, silky seeds follow.
• Bloom Time: Early to late summer (June to August)
• Foliage: Narrow, lance-shaped green leaves on upright, often reddish stems
• Features: Thrives in poor or disturbed soil

Where to Plant: Fireweed is best in meadows, naturalized areas, cottage-style back borders and sunny property edges where a spreading plant is welcome. It's a good choice for bare, disturbed or newly cleared ground. In a tidy bed, sink it in a large bottomless pot or be ready to pull runners each spring.

Companion Plants: Give fireweed room in a moist, sunny native bed where it can spread and fill a wild corner. Fragaria virginiana (9cm) carpets the ground at 10 to 23 cm with white flowers and small red berries. Aquilegia canadensis adds nodding red and yellow columbines at 30 to 75 cm in May and June. Helenium autumnale brings golden sneezeweed at 90 to 150 cm from July to October. Carex muskingumensis adds bright green, palm-like whorls at 60 to 90 cm.

Plant Care: Plant in full sun in average, well-drained soil. It tolerates poor, sandy or gravelly ground. Water through the first season. After that, normal rainfall usually does the job. Fireweed spreads by underground rhizomes and by wind-blown seed. To limit seedlings, cut off the flower spikes as soon as the top flowers fade, before the fluffy seed pods open. Pull unwanted shoots in spring while they're small. Cut stems to the ground in late fall or early spring. Division is easy if you want to share it, and your friends may or may not thank you.

History: Fireweed is native across the cooler parts of the Northern Hemisphere, including all of Canada, and it's the floral emblem of Yukon. It earned its name by rapidly colonizing burned land, and in Britain it was nicknamed bombweed after springing up in bomb sites during the Second World War.

Final Thoughts: Give it room, because those fluffy seeds have travel plans. THE HUMMINGBIRDS WILL BOOK THE NEXT FLIGHT IN.