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 December
2000
 Chamaecyparis
obtusa
'Kosteri'
November
2000
Epimediums
October
2000
Asplenium
trichomanes
September
2000
Gentiana
paradoxa
August
2000
Allium
cyaneum
July
2000
Geranium
dalmaticum
 June
2000
Lewisia
rediviva
May
2000
Sanguinaria
canadensis
'Multiplex'
April
2000
Pulsatilla
slavica
March
2000
Crocus
ancyrensis
February
2000
Cassiope
lycopodioides
January
2000
Corallorhiza
maculata
Archive 2004
Archive
2003
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2002
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2001
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1999
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1998
Archive
1997
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Plant
of the Month
June
2000
Lewisia
rediviva
by Iza Goroff
Lewisia
rediviva is a member of the Portulacaceae family, of
which portulaca, the moss rose, is the most commonly grown.
Lewisia rediviva has a very
wide range, growing from the East Cascades east to the
Rockies and from British Columbia south into California,
Arizona, and Colorado.
Lewisia
rediviva is a plant with a wonderful history. It was
collected by (and named for) Meriwether Lewis during the
famed Lewis and Clark Expeditions, sent by President Thomas
Jefferson to explore the Western United States. The
collected plants were sent to the The Academy of Natural
Sciences of Philadelphia where the dried roots of the
lewisia surprised everyone by blooming. That feat was
repeated in many Lewisia rediviva collections. Its ability
to come back from what appears to be dried death is what
gives rise to the species name rediviva.
The plant
has the popular name of bitter root, a name it gives to a
mountain range in Idaho and Montana. The name refers to the
plant's use as an important food by the Native Americans of
the region. Despite heavy collecting of the roots the
species continues to be plentiful in its native range.
Lewisia
rediviva is a small plant. Its leaves are like
quills, about 1" to 2" (2cm - 5 cm) long. They disappear
before or at the time of flowering in late spring. The
flowers are large for the size of the plant, 1.5" - 3"
diameter. Colors vary from white to almost red with pink
being the most usual.
Lewisia
rediviva is a plant of summer drought. It is best
grown in full sun and in a sand bed or dry trough if grown
where summer rains are abundant. Otherwise it might rot. It
is cold hardy, at least to -31 F (-35 C) and probably much
colder.
Although
Lewisia rediviva may
occasionally produce some side shoots which can be removed
(and can be forced to do so by the expert use of a knife),
the only practical means of propagation is seed. Lewisias
germinate best at cold temperatures (e.g. 40 F, 5 C), either
in a refrigerator or left outside in early spring.
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