Description
When you find seedbox (Ludwigia alternifolia) growing in the wild, it tends to be somewhat sparse and stringy—hardly eye-catching unless you are specifically looking for it. In the garden, though, where the plants have the opportunity to develop with ample space and good soil, they can be quite interesting, forming bushy, 2- to 3-foot-tall clumps that produce small, single, yellow flowers through the summer. The petals drop quickly, leaving behind green to red-tinged sepals around the developing seedpods. in late summer to early fall, the sepals drop off, leaving behind small but fascinating, deep brown, cube-shaped seedpods, each with a tiny hole on one face of the cube. If you shake the stems, you can hear the minute seeds rattling inside the “boxes,” hence the alternative name of rattlebox. The leaves and stems may turn red toward the end of the growing season, providing fall color, and the pods dry on the stems to provide winter interest. The plants may self-sow. Full sun to light shade; moist to wet soil. Perennial; Zones 4 to 8.
Collected in late September 2022, here in Bucks County, PA (so PA ecotype). At least 40 seeds.
Please read the germination information as well before ordering.
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