Description

Key Information:

Soil: Hydric (Wet) – Mesic (Medium)
Sun: Full Sun – Part Sun
Height: 18″-30″
Bloom Color: Blue-Purple
Bloom Season: August – October

More Details:

Suggested Uses: Bottle Gentians are beautiful plants and are a lovely addition to gardens. They are one of the last flowers to bloom in the fall and are great companions to Asters and Goldenrods. A great option for small rain gardens and shoreline restoration!

Native Range: Native to the Midwest and the Northeast. Native throughout the state of Minnesota.

Pollinators: Bumblebees force their way into the closed petals to collect nectar, pollinating the flowers as they go.  Favored by the federally endangered Rusty Patched Bumble Bee (Bombus affinis).

Flowers: The bottle-like cylindrical flowers remain closed at the top. They are 1-1.5″ long with 5 united petals.

Leaves: The ovate or lance-shaped leaves are up to 4″ long and form a whorl below the flowers.

Name: The name gentian comes from King Gentius of Illyria who discovered medicinal value in the gentian root. Andrewsii is in honor of English engraver and botanical artist, Henry Andrews.

More information: USDA plant profile