previous
  • Designing with Curved Terraces
    Designing with Curved Terraces
  • Colorful Selections for Shade
    Colorful Selections for Shade
  • Mulch for a Healthy Garden
    Mulch for a Healthy Garden
  • Elephant's Ears
    Elephant's Ears
  • Garden Confidential: A Plant Walks into a Bar
    Garden Confidential: A Plant Walks into a Bar
  • Plants that Spark!
    Plants that Spark!
  • Plant an Easy-to-Water Strawberry Jar
    Plant an Easy-to-Water Strawberry Jar
  • Comfortable Alfresco Dining
    Comfortable Alfresco Dining
  • Indeterminate or Determinate Tomatoes?
    Indeterminate or Determinate Tomatoes?
  • Thoughts From a Foreign Field
    Thoughts From a Foreign Field
  • Fragrant Plants for Pathways
    Fragrant Plants for Pathways
  • Dwarf Citrus Trees
    Dwarf Citrus Trees
  • Slideshow: Beautiful Clematis
    Slideshow: Beautiful Clematis
  • NEW Video Series: There's a Better Way
    NEW Video Series: There's a Better Way
  • In Pursuit of the Perfect Potting Shed
    In Pursuit of the Perfect Potting Shed
  • Stylish Shady Containers
    Stylish Shady Containers
  • Pretty in Pink
    Pretty in Pink
  • Fast-Growing Trees for Impatient Gardeners
    Fast-Growing Trees for Impatient Gardeners
  • Make a Succulent Topiary
    Make a Succulent Topiary
  • Lawn Alternatives
    Lawn Alternatives
  • Building a Compost Bin
    Building a Compost Bin
  • Containers as Focal Points
    Containers as Focal Points
  • Save Money by Growing Your Own
    Save Money by Growing Your Own
  • 6 Tips for Weed Control
    6 Tips for Weed Control
  • Homegrown / Homemade
    Homegrown / Homemade
next
Find a plant:

OR Browse All Plants


Pulsatilla vulgaris (Pasque flower)

Pulsatilla vulgaris Photo/Illustration: Steve Aitken


Be the first to rate this plant

Plant Showcase - from our advertisers


Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Botanical Name: Pulsatilla vulgaris pull-sah-TIL-lah vul-GAR-iss Common Name: Pasque flower Genus: Pulsatilla
Pasque flower blooms for 4 to 6 weeks in spring with fuzzy flower buds that open to 1.5-inch-wide purple flowers that dance in the breeze. Fuzzy, feathery seedheads take up the dance when the blooms end. By then, the felted leaves have pushed up to produce a lacy gray-green backdrop.
 Noteworthy characteristics: Long blooming period in spring. Beautiful flowers and interesting seedheads. Self-sowing yields smaller plants that can be moved; mature plants have long taproots and resent transplanting.
 Care: Prefers full sun and well-drained, neutral or alkaline soil.
 Propagation: Sow seed as soon as ripe in containers in an open frame. Take root cuttings in winter.
 Problems: Slugs and snails may eat new growth.
Height Less than 6 in.
Spread 6 in. to 12 in.
Growth Habit Clumps
Growth Pace Moderate Grower
Light Full Sun Only
Moisture Medium Moisture
Maintenance Moderate
Characteristics Self Seeds; Showy Flowers; Showy Seed Heads
Bloom Time Spring
Flower Color Purple/ Lavender Flower; White Flower
Style Rock Garden
Seasonal Interest Spring Interest
Type Perennials

Plants you might also like

Papaver nudicaule Papaver nudicaule
(Iceland poppy) Be the first to rate this plant
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Iceland poppy is a short-lived perennial usually grown as a cool-weather annual, or biennial. From hairy tufts of linear blue-green foliage rise wiry stems bearing a pendant bud. The single (occasionally double) short-lived flowers unwrinkle their petals into a wide-spreading saucer shape 3 inches across.
Dianthus deltoides Dianthus deltoides
(Maiden pink) (1 user review)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This mat-forming species with dark green leaves is one of the easiest to grow.  Blossoms range from white to red and are usually single and without fragrance. Use as bedding or in rock gardens.
no image available Geum triflorum
(Prairie smoke, Purple avens) Be the first to rate this plant
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This prairie native bears nodding, pinkish-maroon flowers in spring, followed by seed heads that resemble wisps of cotton candy and connote the plant's common name. The upright, ferny foliage is beautiful, and can be evergreen in mild climates. 
Cerastium tomentosum Cerastium tomentosum
(Snow-in-summer) (2 user reviews)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Snow-in-summer is great for rock gardens and dry areas, and also works well as a container plant. Plant it on a stone wall for a cascading effect. Snow-in-summer needs room to perform. A single plant can carpet an area as wide as a yard across. After the flowers fade, the silver/grey foliage shines on in contrast to more predictable shades of green.
Epimedium grandiflorum cvs. Epimedium grandiflorum cvs.
(Longspur barrenwort, Bishop's hat) Be the first to rate this plant
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Longspur barrenwort is a clump-forming, deciduous, rhizomatous perennial. Leaves, light green and flushed bronze when young, are heart-shaped with spiny margins. Four-petaled white, yellow, pink, or purple flowers, hanging in clusters, appear in mid- and late spring.