Plant Files: Trachystemon orientalis
A beautiful brute
When I was a child my parents found an incredible herbaceous plant at Dunham Massey, I think, in Cheshire. A helpful, if gently misinformed, gardener gave the name 'Brunnera orientalis'.
The plant is in fact called Trachystemon orientalis.
I've been impressed by this plant over the years I've grown it. It's not a polite plant and it's not unfair to call it a little coarse. Given optimum conditions it might one day conquer the world, but it seldom gets optimum conditions so instead it must content itself with quietly colonising areas of the garden instead. This is a plant for those difficult spaces where you want something to grow and cover ground but you also want something with a bit more seasonal interest than the usual offerings.
Despite its robustness this is a beautiful plant; from mid-winter onward the curious flower stems emerge from the soil to a height of maybe 15-20cm (6-8”), possibly a little taller and sometimes a little shorter. The flowers themselves are somewhere between curious and adorable- small blue darts hang broadly downwards, but their narrow, reflexed petals twist back like little corkscrews. The flowers are variable in colour according to form- usually a blue-purple but sometimes you do see a trachystemon with electric-blue flowers. On a warm day in winter this species will provide important food for insects.
As the flowers emerge so do the leaves, usually, bringing a bright fresh green. These are broadly heart-shaped and around 15-20cm (6-8”) long, varying according to soil conditions. This is the thing with Trachystemon orientalis... it's actually very good in a range of conditions.
I wouldn't grow it in the wettest conditions or the driest soils in full sun. It might make it, it might not. However in ordinary garden soil, with light to even quite deep shade, it will thrive and make an excellent foliage display right through summer. In the driest conditions under trees it might take a summer rest, returning rapidly to life when the rains return. This ability is something the gardener can really use; if the plant starts to look scruffy in summer you can go over it lightly with a strimmer to cut it all back, and the plant will be back up and running in a week or so. There are very few plants you can do that to!
That's the strength of Trachystemon orientalis; it's an attractive plant but it's tough. Once established you can neglect it and it will get on with the business of life without issue. Deer, rabbits, slugs and snails seem largely disinterested in it, and beyond possibly dealing with errant seedlings the plant asks for very little attention. The only thing I would say about it is that Trachystemon is a tough and boisterous plant that needs its space; don't plant it with your demure treasures or it will squash them.
I love this plant. We have a large patch of it in a damp but shaded part of the garden. It has occupied the space very effectively making a blanket of its chirpy foliage and pretty flowers with very little infiltration of weeds. It also well behaved and has not sought to invade its surroundings.
Very attractive. Groundcovers should get more love than they do. It reminds me of our Salvia lyrata, a beautiful native Texan with interesting semi-evergreen purple veined foliage and early blue blooms.