Sanguinaria

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Sanguinaria is a monotypic genus - it contains just the one species, Sanguinaria canadense, The Canadian Bloodroot.

Although the wild form of this species is a lovely plant, it suffers from having too few petals and these can be quickly lost. One puff of wind on a three-day-old flower and it is a stump for another year!

The best of the double forms, "Multiplex", has a large well-filled pom-pom with enough petals to spare a few and still look good, from bud to demise. It is every bit as easy to grow as the type straight species, given a leafy, peaty soil in half or part shade, or even full sun if an adequate supply of water at the roots, in summer, can be guaranteed.

The display that a clump of this can make, in a humus rich spot such as a peat garden, in early spring, is not to be missed.

Order from Autumn and Spring lists.

Sanguinaria canadense Mizar

This is a lovely, clonal form, distinct from both multiplex and the ordinary single garden forms.

It is notably early-flowering, appearing here at least 3 weeks earlier than multiplex. It bears starry flowers which are semi-double, with some 15-18 petals when established. More than the single but not a pom-pom.

I have seen this called "early form" but that hardly does it justice. It's a lovely thing, worthy of a much wider audience. In most of the UK ,expect to see flower around end of February, in a mild spell earlier still. In view of this early flowering and its semi-double, yet starry flower we have christened it Mizar, as this was an early double star.

Its origins are hazy. It came to us via a chain of reliable people with a note that it was 'collected in Alaska'. Sanguinaria does not grow west of the Rockies and Alaska is clearly an error. We suspect it may have started as "from Alaska" as the original plants are traceable to Jim Fox who was resident in Alaska for some 10 years at one stage. I have not been able to verify all of this with the original source yet.

Introduced to our lists in 2013 under this name.


Sanguinaria canadense Mizarsancanmiz	£10.50
single-nosed, flowering-sized, clonal divisions. Large view

Sanguinaria canadense Multiplex

Finger-fat, bright red rhizomes (which bleed if cut) make fat waxy shoots from March. These unfold, in the earliest days of spring to blue-green leaves around double, white pom-poms. These are perfect in balance and structure and are long lasting, compared to the single form that soon drops its few petals. In time makes a clump which is a highlight of the spring garden.

A winner of every plant award that there is. This should be in every garden that has a humus-rich spot, with a little dappled shade.


Sanguinaria canadense Multiplexsancanmul	£8.50
Flowering sized, single nosed dormant rhizomes. Large view