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Question: I've tried growing white baneberry in the past but have trouble keeping it alive. Do you think the area may be too dry? Also, I'm growing a passionflower, but I'm not sure how to take care of it. Can you help?
Answer: White baneberry (Actaea pachypoda), also called doll's eyes, is a lovely woodland perennial native to eastern North America. It reaches around 2 feet in height and has white, fuzzy flowers atop medium green, compound foliage.
The most interesting feature of baneberry, by far, is its berries. The berries are round and white with a black spot at the blossom end, giving each berry the distinctive look of a tiny doll eyeball. The berries occur in groups and are borne atop tall, reddish stems.
All parts of the baneberry plant are poisonous to humans and great care should be taken when planting this perennial where curious children might try to sample the unique looking berries. The berries are said to be the most poisonous part of the plant as they contain a toxin that can lead to cardiac arrest.
Despite their toxic nature to humans, birds such as robins and ruffed grouse enjoy the berries with no ill effects, and baneberry is sometimes suggested for use in wildlife habitat gardens. Because of the toxins in its foliage, baneberry is deer proof.
Baneberries need humus-rich, woodland soil that's blessed with good drainage and a high amount of organic matter to thrive. But, the plant also needs frequent irrigation and should not be allowed to dry out. Woodland settings with dappled shade are best.
As for the passionflower, I'll assume you're talking about our native perennial passionflower and not one of the many tropical species that do not survive our winters. Perennial passionflowers (also called maypops), Passiflora incarnata, are one of my all-time favorite flowering vines.
Their unique flowers might give you the impression they're difficult to grow or that they're fussy plants. Nothing could be further from the truth. Our native passionflower grows up to 25 feet tall in a single season and bears gorgeous, purple flowers. It dies back to the ground every winter and then new vines pop up out of the ground in the spring (hence the common name maypop). Frankly, the plant can become aggressive in some situations, with new plants regularly growing from root suckers.
Maypops also sometimes produce yellow-orange, edible berries (called passion fruits), though they aren't formed all that often on our native species. I had a passionflower vine for six years, and in that time, it only produced one fruit.
The vines require only average garden soil regularly amended with organic matter and full to partial sun. They're fairly drought tolerant, but they need a very sturdy structure to climb. A small trellis won't support their growth; you'll need an arbor, pergola, or fence to keep the vines upright.
And, there's an even more important reason to grow our native passionvine. It's the host plant for the caterpillars of several different species of butterflies. Here in Pennsylvania, the list includes only the variegated fritillary. But in the south, maypops host several different southern species of butterflies, including the Gulf fritillary, the zebra longwing and the Julia.
Horticulturist Jessica Walliser co-hosts “The Organic Gardeners” at 7 a.m. Sundays on KDKA Radio with Doug Oster. She is the author of several gardening books, including “Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Garden: A Natural Approach to Pest Control” and “Good Bug, Bad Bug.” Her website is jessicawalliser.com.
Send your gardening or landscaping questions to tribliving@tribweb.com or The Good Earth, 622 Cabin Hill Drive, Greensburg, PA 15601.
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