Species Spotlight – Packera paupercula

Packera paupercula

Balsam groundsel is a diminuitive Packera usually found in gravelly areas, slopes, and thin soil meadows. Works great in a garden!

Packera paupercula is neither rare nor common.  It’s one of those great robust plants that you find growing where little else can manage.  Very easy to grow in a typical home or corporate landscape.  Grows easily from seed instead of rhizomes so it won’t spread around uncontrollably.  Short, stout, and floriferous, this plant performs well in planters, hanging baskets, and creates a neat perennial border.

Some states report that Packera paupercula is retreating from its historic range and this is likely due to encroachment by invasive species that can thrive in challenging conditions.  Packera paupercula does not require rocky soil or slopes; it does just fine in any garden soil.  The competitive dynamic is that Packera paupercula simply gets out-competed in richer soils.

Blooms from mid-May to mid-June and all at once so the visual effect is striking.

Our plants are grown from seed collected along Blue Mountain in Pennsylvania.

Packera paupercula USDA range map.

 

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