Corydalis nobilis – Botanically Inclined

In preparation of going away for a little while, I looked around today to see who would remain in charge of the garden and the seedlings…The first ones asked found excuses of being busy flowering, setting seeds, or putting up new growth.

So, I had to appoint by force the lord of the garden – Corydalis nobilis. You will hardly find a more reliable, resilient and fair garden fellow. From its corner location it can easily survey the whole garden, including the youngster Cory (from seed) which is flowering for the first time.

Corydalis nobilis

I read somewhere (most probably in an AGS Journal) about an old, neglected garden where C. nobilis had taken hold of and was growing everywhere like a weed. It can happen in time; say 30 years from now on.
Sounds like a good plan…

And a few May pictures: new and older plants establishing together, Aquilegia canadensis- short form in the sun-rockery (in the making), and… lots of seedlings :) On the seed adventures at full steam!

Iris ‘Concertina’

Paris quadrifolia

Stylophorum diphyllum

Dicentra ‘King of Hearts’

Aquilegia canadensis – short form

Seedlings

I someone would ask me, I would say that no garden is complete without at least one member of the ephemeral genus of Corydalis. The more common is the delightful Corydalis solida and varieties but wait until you meet the lord of the genus: Corydalis nobilis. If lucky to be able to drive you can see it in flower at Lost Horizons Nursery (not applying anymore, the nursery has closed down). It does not look quite like a Corydalis and it is hard to believe that it will become dormant in early summer.

Corydalis nobilis in early spring

Sometimes called Siberian Corydalis, Corydalis nobilis (Fam. Fumariaceae) was introduced in cultivation in Sweden in 1765 due to a fortunate mistake. The seeds received by Linnaeus were collected from Siberia (Altai mountain range) and believed to be of Lamprocapnos spectabilis. This wonderful Corydalis still grows happily in Carl Linnaeus’ gardens at Upsalla and at Hammarby. Unfortunately, the prediction of “a great horticultural future” for this species has not become true yet. Not being very easy to propagate might have something to do with this. It is available only from a few specialty nurseries in Europe and North America, and of course some years at Lost Horizons.

Corydalis nobilis is very hardy and will start growing quite fast in the spring achieving a 30-50 cm tall clump with juicy stems and green-blue ferny leaves. It produces lots of inflorescences, very dense, with 20-35 flowers, golden yellow with the inner petals dark violet at the top. Flowering lasts for about three weeks in April-May, and it has a spicy fragrance.

Corydalis nobilis inflorescence

Origin: NW. Siberia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, N. Xinjiang (China). Propagated by seed (sown immediately when ripe, otherwise the ants will run away with them to feed on the elaiosomes) or by division in the fall. Corydalis nobilis has an irregularly branched, fragile rootstock, not easy to divide; you can see it here (courtesy of Rare Books – Missouri Botanical Garden Library). It can grow in full sun or shade, but will thrive best in a place reasonable dry during the summer. A focal point in the spring garden, the Lord of the genus Corydalis never fails to attract attention and questions from the visitors.