The hydrophyll of Canada ( Hydrophyllum canadense ) is a perennial plant almost unknown to most professionals, even specialized in the production of perennials and therefore, of course, to amateur gardeners.
Having cultivated it for over 15 years, I can attest to the robustness of Hydrophyllum canadense . This perennial plant is native to Canada mainly, although it is sometimes found in the state of Massachusetts in the United States, it is in New England that it is most frequent.
It grows spontaneously in forests of deciduous trees established on limestone, in slightly shaded undergrowth, in fertile soil, rich in humus and constantly humid. It forms sometimes large colonies, spreading quite slowly, covering the ground well with its large lobed leaves, which resemble maple leaves, of a beautiful bright green.
Insensitive to diseases and pests
In our white garden, she keeps company with the Hosta ‘Royal Standard’ , the Hesperis matronalis var. albiflora and the pretty Pachyphragma macrophyllumto early flowering. It grows as a small, rounded bush, very dense rather than a loose ground cover.
This is due, I think, to the strong presence of clay in our soil, which makes it more fertile than its original soil. It takes quite a while to establish, but when it does, it lives decades in place. The white flowers appear in tight cymes in the heart of the foliage.
They are sometimes light purple and are followed by strange fruits, a sort of big round and thorny capsules. The foliage disappears in winter and its resistance to cold is remarkable. I don’t know of any predators or diseases. Of course, she is not a “garden diva” like the hellebore, but in our park she participates in this biodiversity which is essential to any garden.
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