Pulmonaria 'Dark Vader'

Pulmonaria 'Dark Vader': Speckled Leaves With a Dark Side

Thick, dark green leaves splattered with silver, plus bells that open pink and turn violet-blue. 'Dark Vader' has fully embraced the shady side. RESISTANCE IS POINTLESS.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Pulmonaria hybrid
• Common Name: Lungwort
• Height: 25–30 cm (10–12 in)
• Spread: 45–60 cm (18–24 in)
• Flowers: Small bells that open pink and age through purple to violet-blue
• Bloom Time: Early to mid-spring (April to May)
• Foliage: Thick, dark green, lance-shaped leaves with heavy silver spotting
• Features: Long-season foliage
• Plant Patent: USPP 12,333

Where to Plant: Use it to edge a shady path, fill gaps under shrubs or form a low patch under deciduous trees, especially where grass gave up years ago. It tolerates clay, as long as the soil doesn't bake dry in summer.

Companion Plants: Uvularia grandiflora hangs yellow bells in April and May, right beside the lungwort. Astilbe 'Bressingham Beauty' adds pink plumes at 90 to 100 cm in July and August. Heuchera 'Autumn Bride' closes the season with white flowers from August to October. It's an easy shade planting with colour from spring to fall.

Plant Care: Plant in moist, humus-rich soil in part to full shade. Water well through the first season and during summer dry spells. Lungworts sulk and can get powdery mildew when they're stressed by drought, so a layer of mulch helps. After flowering, cut the old flower stems and any tired leaves right back. A fresh flush of clean foliage follows and looks good until frost. Divide crowded clumps in early fall or right after blooming.

History: 'Dark Vader' was bred by Dan Heims at Terra Nova Nurseries in Oregon from a cross using Pulmonaria 'Victorian Brooch' as the seed parent, and was patented in 2002. The genus name comes from the Latin pulmo, meaning lung, because old herbalists thought the spotted leaves looked like lungs.

Final Thoughts: Deer resistant, low maintenance and handsome long after the flowers. Plant it under the trees and BREATHE HEAVY WHEN THE NEIGHBOURS WALK BY.