In spring, Solomon’s seal lends much elegance and grace to shade gardens thanks to their graceful arching stems that bear small white and green flowers. Most species then produce dark blue—sometimes red—fruits that usually persist until early fall.
Solomon’s seals grow slowly over time to form dense, bushy clumps that are nearly impenetrable by weeds. These perennials—like low plants such as acerat—make beautiful relationships with wild ginger, brunneras, epimedes, and lungworts.
well adapted to shade
Solomon’s seals are completely comfortable in partial shade or shade and these plants also tolerate more continuous sunlight if the soil is consistently cool. On the other hand, they are among those rare plants that manage to establish themselves under the crowns of mature maples and spruce, where there is never any sun. When all the plants are lost under one tree, Solomon’s seal resists!
Although Solomon’s seals are not demanding, they grow best if care is taken to provide them with rich soil with good water and nutrient holding capacity. Therefore it is recommended to plant them in half existing loam and half composted soil. You can then spread compost over the base of them every year after planting. This becomes downright necessary when Solomon’s Seals are competing with tree roots. You need to cut annuals about 2-3 cm thick. It is best to never hoe the soil around them to avoid damaging their rhizomes.
Partition Ease
Solomon’s seals have rhizomes, which are actually underground stems that put out roots and aerial branches. A simple way to propagate Solomon’s seals is by dividing their rhizomes.
In the fall, all you have to do is dig the rhizomes out of the ground and separate the young side shoots from the central part. Using pruners or a knife sterilized with rubbing alcohol, cut young rhizomes no longer than 5 cm in length that have at least one well-formed bud.
Then replant them in well-amended compost soil at the same depth as the parent plant, about 4 or 5 cm below the soil surface.
Here is a description of some species and cultivars of Solomon’s Seals that will do wonders in your garden this spring.
Fragrant Solomon’s Seal “Variegata”
Photo provided by Albert Mondor
Height : 80 cm
Width : 30 cm
bloom : white and green in late May and June
Foliage: creamy white with green edge
Sunlight: sun, partial shade, shade
Hardness: zone 4
Fragrant Solomon’s seal ‘Variegatum’, whose young stems are reddish, produces fine green foliage edged with creamy white.
Fragrant Solomon’s Seal
Photo provided by Jardiner Malin
Height : 80 cm
Width : 30 cm
bloom : white and green in late May and June
Sunlight: sun, partial shade, shade
Hardness: zone 4
Of all the species, it is the fragrant Solomon’s seal, hardy to zone 4, native to Europe and Asia, that is most commonly sold in North American garden centers and nurseries. The stems of fragrant Solomon’s seal are gracefully arching and bear small, pendulous, fragrant flowers in late spring.
Fragrant Solomon’s Seal “Biko”
Photo courtesy of Plant Delights Nursery
Height : 80 cm
Width : 30 cm
bloom : white and green in late May and June
Foliage: green with white
Sunlight: sun, partial shade, shade
Hardness: zone 4
Solomon’s seal ‘Byko’ is similar to the ‘Variegatum’ cultivar, but its green leaves have white spots on their basal portion near the petioles.
Whispered Solomon’s Seal
Photo courtesy of Nora Goosen
Height : 90 cm
Width : 30 cm
bloom : greenish white in late May and June
Sunlight: Sun, Partial Shade, Light Shade, Medium Shade, Dense Shade
Hardness: zone 5
Here is a very original Solomon’s seal, which originated in Asia and Europe. Its straight stems – and not arching as in the case of most other species – carry narrow leaves arranged in whorls equally spaced from each other. At the base of the leaves, which are arranged in clusters of three to five, small white bells of green are produced. Then, in late summer, red berries appear.
