Meet Luke

I love bupleurum (I pronounce it boo-pler-um, maybe I’m right?). Of course, I do have a soft spot for the more reserved so-called “supporting” flowers. I personally think bupleurum is gorgeous all by itself in a vase. Those little florets appear to glow against the bright green foliage. It is just so cheery looking, it feels like it’s actually smiling.

It’s a one-and-done cut flower, meaning once you cut it, that’s it. This is in contrast to cut-and-come-again. It blooms pretty early in the season after sprouting in the fall and overwintering in the garden. I love using one-and-done’s like bupleurum to fill in space where later successions of warm-season flowers will go, like zinnias and marigolds.

Another thing I love about it is that it will self sow if you let it go to seed. And all volunteers are welcome in my garden, ha!

For the past 3 years or so, I’ll leave the biggest, best stem of bupleurum standing so it can go to seed for the following year. Last year was the first year I decided to take it off my propagation schedule and just let the garden do it’s thing. I had plenty and I didn’t plant a single one!