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Jacob's Ladder

Polemonium reptans

Also known as: Greek Valerian

Despite the name, creeping Jacob's ladder does not creep — it builds a low, tidy, long-lived clump that holds its shape for years without needing division. The pinnate leaves, whose paired leaflets are the ladder rungs of the name, emerge very early and stay clean all summer if the soil stays moist, making this one of the better groundcovers for a shaded woodland edge. Nodding blue bell-shaped flowers open in loose sprays in mid-spring on stems that arch outward rather than standing stiffly upright. The specialist bee Andrena polemonii forages on this plant and little else, so a patch is worth having for that alone. Deer generally leave it be. Seed drops close to the parent and it fills in a shady bed gently, never at a neighbor's expense.

Family

Polemoniaceae

Type

shrub

Lifespan

perennial

Height

1–1.5 ft

Spacing

1–1.5 ft apart

Light

shade

Soil moisture

moist

Soil pH

acidic, neutral

Bloom

April, May

Bloom colors

pink, blue

Wildlife value

pollinators

Landscape uses

naturalizing

Native states

AL, AR, DC, DE, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, MA, MD, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, NE, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, SD, TN, VA, WI, WV