Grow and Care for Bellwort

Grow bellwort in part shade to full shade and moist, humus-rich woodland soil that still drains. Bellwort is Uvularia grandiflora, also called merrybells — an eastern woodland wildflower, not the annual cornflower.

Give it part shade, moist woodland soil, and a leaf mulch

Bellwort is a woodland perennial from a short rhizome. Sit it under deciduous trees so it gets light in early spring and shade once the canopy closes. It will take occasional dry spells once it is established, but it is still a moist-woods plant, not a gravel-bed drought shrub. [1] Keep the soil evenly moist while the leaves are up. Dry ground in heat is the usual reason the clump wilts early; a soggy low spot is what rots the rhizome. A thin layer of shredded leaves or pine needles holds that moisture and keeps the roots cool, which is the same litter the plant grows in on the forest floor. [2] Water it in a dry spell the first spring, then leave the mulch in place. Established clumps tolerate a missed watering better than a week in standing water.

Plant in spring or fall, at the same depth it grew

Set a nursery clump in early spring or in fall, in a shady, moist bed you will not need to move later. Slide it out of the pot and plant it at the same depth it grew, with the crown just at the soil. Space clumps about 12 to 18 inches apart so the arching stems can fill without crowding. [3] Firm the backfill so there are no air pockets, water it in the same day, and keep the soil evenly moist while it settles. A moved clump may sit still for a year or two before it blooms well. Do not dig plants from the woods.

1. Pick a shady, moist woodland bed you will not need to move later.
2. Plant in early spring or in fall, at the same depth the clump grew in the pot, with the crown just at the soil.
3. Space plants about 12 to 18 inches apart, then firm the soil so there are no air pockets around the rhizome.
4. Water thoroughly the same day, mulch with leaves, and keep the soil evenly moist while the clump settles.

The yellow bells last a couple of weeks; the leaves stay through summer

Bellwort opens nodding yellow bells in April or May, about an inch and a half long, with six twisted tepals. Each stem usually carries one flower on a fork, and the show lasts about two weeks. The plant looks droopy at bloom, as if the leaves had wilted; after the flowers fade, the stems straighten and the perfoliate leaves — the blade wraps the stem — hold through summer. [4] Do not cut those leaves while they are green. The plant is storing food in the rhizome for next spring. When the flowers fade, a three-lobed capsule takes their place. To raise plants from that seed, see Growing Bellwort From Seed.

Plant it with other woodland neighbors that share shade and moist humus, such as How to Grow Trillium, How to Grow Wild Ginger, and How to Grow Hostas, and keep aggressive spreaders off the clump.

Not Solomon's seal — and not fairy bells or annual cornflower

After bloom, bellwort can look like Solomon's seal until you check the flowers and the leaf base. Solomon's seal hangs several greenish-white bells from the leaf axils along an unbranched arching stem. Bellwort forks, carries a yellow bell at the end of a branch, and the leaf wraps the stem. If the tag is Solomon's seal, see How to Grow Solomon's Seal.

Fairy bells are Disporum, usually sold as an Asian woodland plant with bells along or at the end of the stem — see How to Grow Fairy Bells if that is the shop name. False Solomon's seal holds a terminal plume of small white flowers, not a single yellow bell — see How to Grow False Lily of the Valley. Yellow mandarin is Prosartes, a more branched woodland plant we do not list here.

Catalog tags that say cornflower are this same bellwort as an old folk name, not the sun annual with fringed blue heads — see How to Grow Cornflower if the plant wants full sun and looks like a daisy. Wood daffodil is another old nickname, not a trumpet bulb — see How to Grow Daffodils. Morton and some tags also say large bellflower; those upright cups are Campanula — see How to Grow Bellflowers.

If the leaves wilt in June, the soil probably dried out or the sun was too hot. Put the next plants in shade with a leaf mulch, and keep the soil evenly moist while the leaves are up.