PlantFiles: Hacquetia
Hacquetia epipactis

We brought a specimen of Hacquetia back from Vancouver to Newfoundland many years ago, and are very pleased with it. It's an interesting contrast to the spring bulbs that flower at the same time. We've increased it by division, but it increases slowly and is not invasive.

This difficult to find plant is excellent for cold climates like Minnesota. It is a very early bloomer--along with Hepatica and Snow Crocus. The flowers are chartreuse bracts, and come out of the ground first in Spring, followed by the dark green leaves. When it's blooming in Spring, it is a big attention getter. At the end of bloom, the bracts darken and stems elongate, which helps hoist the seeds just beyond the radius of the cluster. It spreads slowly from the roots and reseeds quite well. Young plants can be moved easily. Our healthiest clump is almost ten years old, and it is in deciduous shade (Spring sun, Summer shade.) The foliage is very tough, and has an appearance not unlike Hellebore, and the bract flowers are vaguely similar to anemone. Seed ripens quickly after pollination, and need to be collected by hand. I clean and dry them, then plant them in about 1/4" of prepared soil. This plant has my highest recommendations.