DANGEROUS ANDROMEDA
I have fallen in love with a beautiful and dangerous plant. It is not dangerous in the literal sense, like the deadly castor bean or monkshood. It is dangerous because it is finicky and can be hard to grow. If grown badly it will either die or, more likely, languish forever in ugly defiance of my best efforts. Either way, the potential for regret is high.
This new acquisition is Andromeda polifolia, sometimes known as bog rosemary. It is a low shrub that will never be taller than about one foot high. In the unlikely event that it is happy on my property, it may spread to about two feet wide. The evergreen foliage is almost blue and reminiscent of rosemary. The flowers are bell-shaped and resemble those of its relatives pieris, heather and arbutus. The tiny individual bells are a winsome shade of pale pink.
I first met ‘Blue Ice’–its varietal name–several years ago at a garden center. I was very taken with the plant, plump and healthy in its two-gallon nursery pot. However, for some reason I didn’t bring it home. I have been sorry ever since because I haven’t seen it in stores or catalogs again. It had been so long that in my mind, Andromeda polifolia was in danger of becoming “the plant that got away.”
Then last week I saw it in a garden center display and snapped it up immediately. I congratulated myself all the way home, but reality set in when I checked the plant on the Internet.
As the common name, “bog rosemary” suggests, Andromeda polifolia is native to swamps and boggy areas. It must have acid soil, constant moisture and perfect drainage. My garden is chock full of acid soil; the challenge lies in providing the constant moisture and perfect drainage. I live in a climate that can be simultaneously hot, humid and rain free in summer for days on end. The acid soil is also heavy clay, a definite impediment to perfect drainage. Clearly the bog rosemary will need special treatment.
Since I made a commitment to the plant, I will give it a try. Before installing it in my garden, I will take a trip to the local big box store and buy a bag of sand to mix with the soil. Homemade compost will help the drainage as well. I will put down a soaker hose around it to cater to its thirsty nature. My andromeda will also live in partial shade, so it will not suffer unduly during the hot summers.
Gardeners who post frequently on major gardening chat sites have a lot to say about Andromeda polifolia and most of it is not encouraging. Even when all its requirements are met, the plant sometimes gets ugly, turning brown in the middle while remaining green around the edges. One poster quoted a noted expert, who said that the only time these specimens look good is while they are in pots in the nursery yard.
I am an optimist, so I try to ignore all of that, believing that my yard will have some magic that the others lack. I support a dwarf blueberry bush in fine style and it is part of the same Ericaceae or heather family. Some of the iris require constant moisture and they survive and flourish. I even have plants for which I have gone to great trouble to provide perfect drainage. I will hope for the best.
The genus name, “Andromeda,” is confusing. In the1763, the great plant taxonomist, Linnaeus included the swamp rosemary in a genus he called “Andromeda,” where it still resides. Also included in the Linnaean genus was the much larger shrub, pieris, which was split off into its own genus in the 1830’s. Confusion enters the picture because pieris is commonly called “Andromeda.” Since relatively few people are familiar with bog rosemary, chances are those who talk about “Andromeda” are referring to the larger, more popular plant.
I wish I had one of those as well, but space in my garden is tight and it is just so difficult to appropriate parts of your neighbors’ properties without causing problems.
Swamp rosemary is going to be an experiment. Mine has an abundance of flowers on it now and with luck, they will return next spring. In the meantime, I will tend to its needs like a nursemaid. Thank God for plants like ajuga, which can be neglected, derided and even walked upon with no problem at all.