PlantFiles: Indian Pink
Spigelia marilandica

This is a lovely plant that blooms twice for me. First in June and again in August. One interesting note, however, I bought it for a light shade area that met all of the plant's criteria, but it was very unhappy. I moved it to a dry, full sun area of my yard and it's been amazingly happy there.
*2007 Follow up - I was diligent this year about dead-heading the plant and it bloomed all summer/fall long!

I have this plant growing in full sun. This is the second year for it and it is lovely. It has travelled to the other end of the garden and is blooming there also. I will try to divide it and move some of it to another garden.

Plants, medicinally, are used to expell worms and is a narcotic. Usage should be followed by a "saline aperient" like magnesium sulphate or unpleasant side effects could occur.

I will be buying plants or starting seed in the spring and will change my rating according to overall experience, including growing the plant.

This is an excellent plant for shady areas or those that get dappled sunlight. I grow it down here in a very naturally mulched wet sort of boggy area.

I have dig up divisions and tranplanted them to other shady areas to colonize this wildflower. After transplanting I watered several times a day and had prepared the ground with high organic matter. They love leaf mulch!

The plants will look like they want to die back for about two weeks after transplanting, but give them plenty of water and they will perk right back up.

I place panyhose around the seed pods to catch them. They are tiny green balls that turn to black when ripe. If you bring in the black ripened seeds pods to open, make sure you keep them in the panyhose or place in a container with a lid. When the seed pods open they explode and make a sound like snapping firecrackers and the seed will disperse all over the place.

This native perennial is one of my favorite shade plant. I have heard people call it the lipstick plant here and I can understand why by looking at the beautiful bloom. The foliage is bright green and shiny. Clump forming.

Very lovely...... this Spigelia marilandica is a native and the colloquiall name indian pink refers to native AMericans...... woudl looooove some....... !!!!! :)

A wonderful shade loving plant. There's really not too much you can't say about this plant, nice foliage, striking yellow and red blooms, in a nice cluster and last but not least, a great cut flower for the dinner table, throw in some coreopsis and white penstimmon and you've got it made!

Fabulous perineal for the woodland shade garden. Pinch back faded blooms for a second show 3 to 4 weeks later. Seed and cuttings are slow. Sow seeds outside in fall covered to their depth in medium. I use a flat with a glass pane over it to keep out critters. If the leaves start to look yellow, add lime to the soil. Likes the dappled light of a forest.