Friday’s seeds and plant portrait: Soldanella pusilla

This year, I sowed very late in January a few species. I have a feeling that we will have enough time this winter to provide the cold period in our region.

Among the sowings, there is also the lovely Dwarf snowbell, Soldanella pusilla, that another source suggests could be a warm germinating species. The same species can have different patterns of germination depending of the mother-plant origin.
So, it is time for a little test: I sown two pots, one will receive cold/moist stratification outdoors, one will remain in a cooler location in the house.
Experimenting with sowing is another fun thing to do in the dead of winter 😊

Not many people are familiar with the lovely Dwarf snowbell. I was lucky to see it flowering up the mountain a few times, but last summer it was the first time I got the chance to collect a decent quantity of seeds.

Soldanella pusilla it is a diminutive plant that grows at alpine level from the C&E Alps, Apennines, Rhodope to the Carpathians Mts.
The solitary, large, reddish-violet fringed flowers, appear right after the snowmelt, most often in large numbers in certain locations (meaning somewhere in July at alpine level).
So, it is by great chance to go up the mountain exactly to find it flowering, in company of other acid substrate inhabitants like: Primula minima, Ranunculus crenatus, Geum reptans, Campanula alpina…

Seeds wise, as well, if you do not know precise growing locations, by summertime, the very small rosettes remain quite invisible among the high alpine vegetation. Plus, the seeds setting and maturation is highly dependent on the weather.

In contrast to other Soldanella species, S. pusilla will often grow in open places, in full sun to part-shaded locations. By late summer the little, leathery rosettes get a bit of protection from the nearby vegetation. Usually the rosettes of leaves are forming colonies, which means it self-seeds around and maybe also propagates vegetatively.

Besides an acidic substrate (not too difficult to provide by adding a mixture of peat and sand) the most difficult to maintain in a hot, dry climate would be the moisture. Our humid summers also pose problems for high alpine species, but it is worth giving it a try!

I am able to grow now a couple of other Soldanellas, Ramonda myconi and Saxifraga cuneifolia by using a tall container, where the large volume of soil maintains a rather constant humidity even during high summer. Plus, I can monitor the slug attack attempts much easier.
If I will be successful with germination and seedlings growing, that’s how I intend to cultivate the Dwarf Snowbell as well (if in need of inspiration).

Those with a moist nook in the rockery, especially in the provinces with not so hot & humid summers, may have better chances to establish it. Do not miss the chance to try the Dwarf Snowbell; it will never be a regular offering on BotanyCa Seed List!