Gentians on the rocks

Gentians are among the most attractive of rock-garden plants, says Will Ingwersen

- Will Ingwersen

THERE is magic in the name gentian that never fails to appeal to lovers of alpine and rock-garden plants. The incomparable blue of their flowers is irresistible and, although a few species are inclined to be temperamental, many are easy to grow and even the difficult ones deserve every possible effort to supply their needs.

The best known gentian is surely Gentiana acaulis, the trumpet-flowered, spring-flowering species. It will flourish in well-drained soil, but is curiously reluctant to flower freely in some gardens. The only solution, entirely unscientific and inexplicable, seems to be to move it around the garden until a position is discovered of which it approves. Sometimes a move of only a metre or two will make all the difference.

Rivalling G. acaulis for popularity is the autumn-flowering G. sino-ornata. This splendid plant was first discovered in Yunnan, China, by George Forrest in 1904, but seeds were not sent home until 1910 and its first recorded flowering in Britain was in 1912.