Once, twice, three times for Spigelia success

Third time lucky, that’s what I tell myself. Sometimes it’s when a plant finally thrives after a third move around the garden. I might think it’s in the right place the first time, and the second time, but I get it wrong, whether it’s due to soil, amount of sun or lack of moisture. As a wannabe plant whisperer, I’m forever trying to please too many, and with so many different species, it can be a challenge to always get it right.

Some plants don’t care much as they aren’t at all fussy about conditions, while plenty of others are finicky. I don’t rush a move as it can take a couple of years or more for a plant to settle in. With clematis, it’s said to be first-year sleep, second-year creep and third-year leap. It’s typically what happens, but it could just as well apply to other perennials. Then there’s the weather effect. When too hot, too wet or too dry, a particular plant might not perform well, then when it’s just right the following year it takes off. It’s satisfying when everything works out as it should. Right plant, right place has always been good advice. Right weather clinches it.

I can apply the third time lucky rule when it takes three attempts to actually keep a plant alive. One failure might be enough, if it fails twice, I’m usually done with it. If a plant doesn’t agree with my garden, I can always find another to challenge my patience.

There is one I’ve tried for a third time to grow, and I finally think I’ve been successful.

It’s Spigelia marilandica, also known as woodland pinkroot. I first wrote of this plant eight years ago and related how I’d kept it in a pot the first year before planting it in the garden where it almost vanished. Then it delighted me by finally flowering, but not much, and that was the last I saw of it.

It’s not a plant that pops up often or at all in garden centres. That first one was a mail-order plant and I didn’t come across another until a couple of years ago, long enough for the disappointment to be forgotten. I found it at a small, rare plant nursery and scooped it on sight.

Here goes, I thought, after planting it in the perfect spot where I felt sure it would survive and thrive. It didn’t. That’s it, no more Spigelia for me. Then last fall, another one showed up, delivered to me by a friend who knew of my interest in it — she might have mentioned obsession.

Spigelia is a native North American plant, though not usually this far north as it’s only hardy to Zone 5. It grows naturally in part to full shade in the organically rich soil found in woodland, and it even tolerates wet soils. I found the perfect location, or so I hoped, in a cool, shaded corner in the side yard where the soil stays a little damp. I planted it last fall and looked forward to it appearing in spring. The friend had also planted one and let me know in spring that hers was up and growing. No sign of mine at all.

It looked like it would be third time still unlucky, but a week later it appeared at last and it’s grown beautifully, is already forming a clump. It should reach about 45 centimetres (18 inches) across with flowers on long stems up to 60 centimetres (two feet) tall above glossy green leaves. The narrow, upward-facing trumpet-shaped flowers, a couple of inches long, are bright red, and at the top, the flare reveals a fivepointed yellow star.

So why all the fuss and frustration, you might be thinking. I like the plant, despite the challenge of growing it in my own garden. Let’s hope three times is lucky enough.