Lenten Roses - The Power of the Flower

LentenRose.com is located in the Piedmont of N.E. Georgia (USA).  That's important when you are comparing the perennial cycle of the Lenten Rose throughout the country.  Our flower cycle down here is just about over.  We have been harvesting seed for the last 3 weeks and starting this week we will be cutting the flower stalks out of the plant before we ship them out.  

Watch the April video of the Lenten Rose Almanac located on my web site.  There is a lot of good info regarding the flower cycle in that video.

It's not very pretty but it is part of the natural cycle of the plant.  Once the flower has dropped its seed you can go ahead and cut out the flower stalks.  They're just going to decompose anyway.  Might as well cut them out.

It's time now for the summer ground cover foliage to take center stage.  The broad, dark green, serrated leaves create beautiful shade cover and prickly protection for the fallen seed.  Later in the year, in the late fall, these leaves will start to lay over and decompose,  giving the seeds an additional layer of nutrients before they break ground in Jan/Feb.  

.....the power of the flower.