What joy!!! It`s time!! These native spring ephemerals are unfurling from their cloaks and shining their bright faces.
Bloodroot is part of a group of deciduous forest understory plants called spring ephemerals. This group includes our provincially famous Trillium, but also many others! They bloom and set seed early in the season to capitalize on the energy they receive from sunlight before they are blanketed in the shade of the leaves that emerge in the over story canopy in May.
Why plant bloodroot and other native spring ephemerals, and not just tulips and daffodils? These are part of our existing forest ecosystems, food webs, and nutrient cycles. They provide a crucial source of early food for pollinators. Just yesterday I saw several queen bumblebees emerge from their ground nests, and they need food! The seeds of bloodroot contain a fatty, nutrient -rich appendage that attracts and nourishes ants, and in turn the ants disperse the seeds. This means free plants!
It is crucially important that you do not harvest plants from the wild to plant in your garden, as this has led to these plants becoming at risk of extinction or extirpation (local extinction) in many areas. Visit a reputable nursery to ensure you are supporting sustainable plant propagation and actually expanding biodiversity as opposed to threatening it.
@nativeplantsinclaremont in the GTA is having a sale on spring ephemerals this weekend (April 18/19), but there are many other reputable native plant nurseries in Ontario. Check out this list at Native Plant Connection:
https://nativeplantconnection.com/native-plant-nurseries-ontario/
#bloodroot #nativeplantsofontario #plantnative #springephemerals
...
