Linnaea borealis

[Leena]

Leena, I have a few patches of it in my garden. If they survive the winter I can send you some cuttings in the spring or look for seeds later.

Trond, thank you so much, if you get seeds I would love to try to grow it.
I will try also Linnea borealis in the garden when this snow melts. Pictures with it growing in moss and tree logs look so tempting. I think it could look lovely close to Rhododendrons, or under them (though my rhodos are not very big yet, most are seedlings).

[Tim Ingram]

After seeing these marvellous pictures of Linnaea (or presumably more correctly Linnea) I had to look for Lincoln Foster's descriptions of it in 'Cuttings from A Rock Garden'. He writes an informative short essay on it and elsewhere recommends planting it with Phlox adsurgens. That would be lovely pairing, the epitome of woodland beauty. We must try to establish it in the garden and the American form sounds to be the one to go for.

[Maren]

Hi,
plant names always interest me. Here is the relevant entry in the International Plant Names Index (IPNI), maintained by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew:

Plant Name Details
Caprifoliaceae Linnaea borealis L.
Sp. Pl. 2: 631. 1753 [1 May 1753] View page [BHL]
Type Information:
Locality:
"Habitat in Sueciae, Sibiriae, Helvetiae, Canadae sylvis antiquis, muscosis, acerosis, sterilibus, umbrosis."
in English (as if you needed it!! my translation is as approximate as I can get):
it grows in Sweden, Siberia, Switzerland, Canada, in ancient forests, that are mossy, shady, sterile and contain leaf litter.

[Tim Ingram]

I wondered about the name simply because those who live in Scandinavia use the spelling Linnea, but I've always seen it as Linnaea. Lincoln Foster says that 'Jan Fredrik Gronovius, an eminent early botanist, dedicated the European twinflower, Linnaea borealis, to the revered Linnaeus, who was especially fond of this sweetly scented little creeper'.  He finishes with a poem from Ralph Waldo Emerson:

He saw beneath dim aisles, in odorous beds,
The slight Linnaea hang its twin-born heads,
And blessed the monument of the man of flowers,
Which breathes his sweet fame through northern bowers.

I must say I particularly like Trond's picture of the upturned flower as well - a really delightful plant.

[Leena]

Tim, you are right, and I wrote the name wrong. It is Linnaea borealis also here. I didn't check and wrote the name from my memory.

[Robert]

After seeing these marvellous pictures of Linnaea (or presumably more correctly Linnea) I had to look for Lincoln Foster's descriptions of it in 'Cuttings from A Rock Garden'. He writes an informative short essay on it and elsewhere recommends planting it with Phlox adsurgens. That would be lovely pairing, the epitome of woodland beauty. We must try to establish it in the garden and the American form sounds to be the one to go for.

I wold love to see the combination of Linnaea borealis and Phlox adsurgens. It sounds very good. To the north of here near the Oregon border they seem to like the same general habitat - dry, high open shade, some sort of organic material in or on the soil - however, I have never seen the two plants growing together. For us it would be a tricky combination. Phlox adsurgens has never been easy for us to keep going in the garden.

[ian mcdonald]

Hoy, I was once told that to produce seed you need two plants from different clones. It would be interesting to see if your plant produces seed.

[Hoy]

Hoy, I was once told that to produce seed you need two plants from different clones. It would be interesting to see if your plant produces seed.

My plant? Leena and I speak of Houstonia which I have in my garden and promised her, and Linnaea (which is called linnea in Norwegian and Swedish therefore the spelling "mistake") which grows in abundance at my cabin. No problem with different clones! I think Leena has a lot of "vanamo" in the woods of Finland

Thanks, Tim!

[brianw]

Why is this under "bulbs"? Something I don't know?    [ N.B. edit by maggi : because it was originally  in an Anemone thread]

My first introduction to Twinflower was I think at the Jack Drake Inshriach nursery very many years ago. It grew locally I believe. I did not see it in the wild until 2008 on Flower Pot Island off the coastal town of Tobermory. No not off the Isle of Mull in Scotland, but in Ontario off the northern tip of the Bruce peninsular. (A plant wonderland for those fortunate enough to visit)

Not as sharp as it could be, sorry. But lots through the woodland and almost down to the shore.
In May 2009 I set up what I hoped was suitable growing conditions. A peat bed in a sink, just for this plant, although with a few additions. I had grown a couple of plants from Nargs seed and thought this might be the best I could do in the warm chalky south. The peat blocks are supported by roofing slates at the back.

The sink was in a shady corner of the garden and received good light but no direct sunlight. I found I had to cage it because of the birds. In a couple of years the plants had almost filled the cage and grown through the netting. I had to trim it to get the cage off to weed. I still have the sink, now very weedy and no longer caged, and the Saponaria later was replaced by Mimulus primuloides, but I have never had a flower on the Twinflower. I assume this is because of the lack of sunlight rather than me trimming. Not checked recently to see if any remains. The Mimulus did OK and the Soldanella had a few flowers and were both there last I looked. I tried to get Moneses uniflora going on it too but don’t think I ever had viable seed.

[Maggi Young]

This thread was split off from an Anemone thread - which is under "bulbs" because of the wide tolerance given here to bulbs, corms, tubers and rhizomes  here in the forum, which extends to all sorts of lumpy , underground storage organs!  And it found itself still in "bulbs" because I was too busy helping members get their seed orders in at the last minute to  fully register that fact!

 I'll move it now 

[Tony Willis]

Linnaea borealis running around in one of my frames. Sorry about the quality of the picture but it was taken through dirty glass in order to get near enough to it.

[Maggi Young]

Linnaea borealis running around in one of my frames.

You lucky dog!

[John Aipassa]

Here is one of my patches. This is the var. americana. I also have the European Linnaea borealis from Sweden.

[Lori S.]

This seems like a fitting place to show the most floriferous patch of Linnaea borealis I've ever seen.  It's a very common understory plant through the montane and boreal forest here (Alberta, and western Canada).  This was along the Buller Pass trail in Spray Valley Provincial Park, eastern slope Rockies, Alberta, yesterday, in a sunny clearing along the trail.  (The clearing may have been due to the prescribed burn in 2011 through this area - can't remember if that was the case right at this spot or not, and didn't take any broader photos right here.)

[Maggi Young]

Crikey, Lori, that is truly spectacular - never seen anything - or likely to see - anything so marvelous. You've left Ian and I speechless here!