Dodecatheon

A flowering Dodecatheon is a real firework, but also and above all a plant for knowledgeable and passionate collectors. This genus includes about fourteen species of perennial plants, cousins of primroses, which are the western American equivalent of European cyclamens with their turned-back petals and gracefully inclined flowers on long stalks. These plants form rosettes 38cm (15in) tall, displaying clusters of reddish-violet flowers in Dodecatheon jeffreyi, purple-pink in Dodecatheon latifolium, or white to pink in Dodecatheon meadia. Very hardy, these plants appreciate acidic, moist, and well-drained soil, as well as partial shade. They require a dry resting period after flowering and do not tolerate transplanting well.