YORKTON - Almost every plant has a story of some kind attached to it, and if you are looking for a “heavenly” perennial to add to your garden, you might want to consider polemonium caeruleum, the two-dollar name for Jacob’s Ladder. It’s a wonderful plant that is one of those easy-going garden additions that more than makes up for some finicky plants requiring a lot of a gardener’s attention.
Jacob’s Ladder is a perennial that grows about twenty-four inches high, has no pest problems, is said to be deer resistant ( and I know gardeners who have deer visitors in their gardens are rolling their eyes at this point and saying there is no such thing!), and is pretty relaxed about the kind of soil it is planted in. It would love well-draining soil in full sun or part shade. When established it can tolerate some dry spells, but it’s dream home would be in full sun with slightly moist soil.
The best part of Jacob’s Ladder is its very beautiful appearance. A dense mound of pretty leaves is at the base of the plant, and strong flower stems rise above them, giving the gardener the joy of stunning blue flowers bobbing in the spring breeze. Blue flowers are such a bonus! The bees love this plant, even though it blooms only in late spring to early summer.
It’s the leaves that give this plant its common name. They are beautiful: a bright and cheerful green compound leaf. Remember those? Compound leaves are leaves with a main stem, the rachis, and smaller leaves branching off each side.
Reading about plant leaves is fascinating: for example, the Jacob’s Ladder leaves are not only compound, but pinnately compound, and ‘odd’ pinnate. That means they have a little leaf at the end to ‘finish off’ the stem. Some plants have ‘even’ pinnate leaves, like our Saskatchewan favorite, caragana, which has little leaves up each side of the leaf spine, but no small leaf at the end. This factoid may not have been keeping you up nights wondering about it, but for gardeners it is interesting to know!
Leaves are like the lungs of any plant, so very important. And next time you are doing your daily garden tour, just take a look at the variety of leaves in the garden, from the strong straight leaves of the iris to the delicate fronds of dill, the oar-like leaves of lettuce, to beautiful leaves of plants like cranberry or hosta. Such diversity in shape, color and texture!
Now back to Jacob’s Ladder. I have read that we should deadhead them, not so much for a second flush of bloom but because it will self-seed. To me this is a happy problem if it happens because it is such a great little plant. However, we have had a Jacob’s Ladder for many years and it has maintained it’s shape and size, not becoming invasive, although we would be happy to have more JL in our plant family! It can also be divided in the spring if a clump is getting too large.
And what’s the story of the Jacob’s Ladder plant name? The stunning leaves, which are so neatly and perfectly uniform, are said to be like the rungs on the ladder to Heaven, scaled by angels, that biblical Jacob dreamed about. So now we know! It’s a great plant to add to our collections!
The Yorkton and District Horticultural Society will be having our Annual Fruit, Flower and Vegetable show on Wednesday, August 6 at the Parkland Mall in Yorkton. Plant to attend! Visit us at www.yorktonhort.ca for more info.
Thank you to our friends at YTW for their great work—have a good week!
