Dutchman’s Breeches
Dicentra cucullaria
Sustainable Landscaping with Native Plants
Dutchman’s Breeches is a true spring woodland ephemeral species. It flowers early in the spring when sunlight hits the woodland floor before the canopy of the trees fill in. This is an ideal time for the first emerging bumblebees to find and nectar on the flowers.
Dicentra cucullaria, GoBotany
Of all the native plants that we utilize within our projects, Dutchman’s Breeches has to be one of our favorites. I love being outdoors, especially in the early spring when mother nature is re-awakening. It flowers early in the spring with attractive clusters of unusual white flowers and feathery, blue-green, finely cut foliage when sunlight hits the woodland floor before the canopy of the trees fill in making this plant a wonderful addition to any garden or woodland setting.
The white to pale-pink blooms are shaped like old-fashioned pantaloons and are borne on a succulent stalk 6-8” above the foliage. This beautiful spring ephemeral groundcover happily spreads under a deciduous woodland canopy in well-drained rich, moist soils that are slightly acidic to neutral. As early summer approaches Dicentra cucullaria goes dormant, providing an excellent opportunity for later emerging perennials to replace them.
The common name Dutchman’s breeches comes from the pair of outer petals which form a swollen ‘V’ making the hanging flower look like a pair of white breeches/bloomers hung upside-down.
PLANT TYPE – Perennial | SUN/SHADE CONDITIONS – Filtered-Shade, Partial-Shade
FOLIAGE CHARACTER – Deciduous |SOIL MOISTURE – Average, Moist
FLOWERING PERIOD – Early-Spring, Mid-Spring | SOIL PH – Acidic, Adaptable
FLOWER COLOR – Pink, White | FRUIT/SEED COLOR – Green
At Lincoln Landscaping cultivating the environment is our life and livelihood. It is our number one goal to help our clients create and maintain beautiful landscapes while reducing the impact on the environment. Whether you are interested in a pollinator landscape garden design and build or other landscaping or property management project; we can create for you an environmentally friendly, organic and beautiful property.
Lincoln Landscaping of Franklin Lakes offers complete
organic landscaping, lawn care, turf and property management services.
Lincoln Landscaping “The Natural Choice”
Mike Kolenut President & CEO
https://lincolnlandscapinginc.com
(201) 848-9699
