Choose Virginia spring beauty, western spring beauty, or candy flower first.
Choose Virginia spring beauty, western spring beauty, or candy flower first
| Factor | Recommended | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Eastern woodland | Virginia spring beauty — grasslike leaves and a small corm | Do not buy it for a hot, dry rock slope |
| Western mountain | Western spring beauty — lance leaves on a spring-moist open slope | Do not treat it as the eastern woodland plant |
| Spreading shade | Candy flower — stays leafy longer; stem leaves not fused | Do not buy it as fused-disc salad miner's lettuce |
Know your USDA hardiness zone before you pick a type of claytonia that will take your winter. Type your ZIP below.
2023 USDA ZIP listings (PRISM / USDA-ARS). Find Your USDA Hardiness Zone · Official USDA map.
The first choice is the habit you can match. Virginia spring beauty is the eastern woodland corm with grasslike leaves. Western spring beauty is the mountain corm for a spring-moist open slope. Candy flower spreads in moist shade and keeps leaves longer; its stem leaves are not a fused disc. If the tag only says Claytonia, look at whether you have a small corm ephemeral or a spreading candy flower, then pick that kind. [1] [2]
Which spring beauty should I buy?
Buy Virginia spring beauty for an eastern woods floor, western spring beauty for a spring-moist open slope, or candy flower for spreading moist shade.
Is candy flower planted as a corm?
No. Candy flower spreads by seed and short runners. Virginia and western spring beauty are the corm plants.
Browse by kind
Match the woodland corm, the mountain corm, or the spreading candy flower, then pick that kind. Care for the plant you already have on How to Grow Spring Beauty. [3] [4]
Virginia spring beauty
Virginia springbeauty is the eastern woodland plant with a pair of grasslike leaves and white to pink flowers striped darker pink. It grows from a small corm and disappears after seed. Buy this group for a deciduous woods floor, not for a hot dry rock slope.
Western spring beauty
western spring beauty is the western mountain plant, with fleshy lance leaves and flowers that open as the snow melts. It wants a spring-moist open slope, not the same woodland shade as the eastern kind. The corm sits deeper in the wild.
Candy flower
candy flower is Siberian springbeauty, a spreading plant with pink pencil markings on the petals. Stem leaves are opposite and free, not fused into a disc. Tags may say Siberian miner's lettuce or pink purslane. It is still this candy flower, not the salad crop with a leaf disc.
If you want a woodland corm with grasslike leaves, buy Virginia spring beauty — candy flower is a spreading shade plant.
FAQ
Is Carolina springbeauty in this catalog?
No. Carolina springbeauty is Claytonia caroliniana, with broader oval leaves. The eastern plant here is Virginia springbeauty, Claytonia virginica.
Is candy flower the same as miner's lettuce?
No. Candy flower is Claytonia sibirica, with free stem leaves. Salad miner's lettuce is Claytonia perfoliata, with a fused disc, and it is not in this catalog.
Are Claytonia perfoliata or cordifolia in this catalog?
No. This catalog holds Virginia springbeauty, western spring beauty, and candy flower. Heartleaf claytonia and salad miner's lettuce are other species.
Related guides
References
- [1] NC State Extension Gardener -
https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/claytonia-virginica/ - [2] Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center -
https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=CLLA2 - [3] Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center -
https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=CLSI2 - [4] Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest -
https://www.pnwflowers.com/flower/claytonia-sibirica
This note is part of Claytonia Guides.
More type comparisons by plant are gathered in Types of Plants Guides.
Updated: Reviewed by Bosquelle Editors