Polemonium yezoense Purple Rain

Polemonium yezoense 'Purple Rain', also known as Jacob's Ladder and Greek Valerian, is one of the best new introductions in recent years. With its lace-like purple to bronze foliage, dark stems, and blue-violet flowers, it is the darkest form of polemonium currently available. It is a perennial plant that forms an imposing clump of deeply cut foliage, which darkens to a deep, rich, dark purple in spring and autumn. Fabulous, hardy and vigorous, this plant will perform best in full sun or partial shade, in cool, moist, humus-rich soil.

Polemonium yezoense 'Purple Rain' belongs to the Polemoniaceae family. The original seeds of this Polemonium were collected at high altitudes in Japan, where the plant was already considered a jewel among flowering plants. One plant showed its purple rosette in spring, which quickly transformed into curly, dark foliage. This new colour, completely different from that of other polemoniums, constituted an extremely precious introduction, which has since been produced, multiplied, crossed, and even renamed all over the world.

Polemonium yezoense 'Purple Rain' is the original form. It is a herbaceous perennial plant that forms an imposing clump, reaching a height of 50 cm (20 in) and a spread of 40 cm (16 in). Its foliage is deeply cut, darkening to a deep, rich, dark purple in spring and autumn. The Polemonium genus is distinguished by its fern-like foliage, showing dozens of small leaflets inserted perpendicularly to the central vein, like the rungs of a ladder. In 'Purple Rain', in late spring or early summer, the burgundy stems shaded with black rise above the foliage, bearing clusters of bell-shaped, five-petalled flowers in a deep blue-violet colour. The centre of each flower is cream-coloured, revealing orange stamens when covered in pollen. It can re-bloom in early autumn if the faded flowers are regularly removed.

Very hardy (-30 °C (-22 °F)) and easy to grow, Polemonium yezoense 'Purple Rain' will be undemanding. It will thrive in any type of soil, from slightly alkaline to slightly acidic, provided it is fertile, humus-rich, cool, well-drained, and moist. Plant it in a mixed border or mass planting, along with anemones, pasqueflowers, or orange blooms like Potentilla fruticosa 'Hopleys Orange', with which it will form a delightful combination. This variety prefers sunny to partially shaded exposures. It pairs well with different foliage and flower colours, and adapts well to woodland gardens, rockeries, along pathways, or placed prominently as a specimen in a container, its flowering attracting attention above the colourful mass of its foliage.