PINK LUNGWORT
Pulmonaria officinalis 'Shrimps on the Barbie'
Pulmonaria officinalis ‘Shrimps on the Barbie’ bursts with large, dense clusters of shrimp-pink and coral blooms.
Sizzles with colour in late winter & spring
Providing wonderful colour with its late winter and early spring blooms.
‘Shrimps on the Barbie’ is one of the most intensely coloured of all the Pulmonarias, and has particularly large flowers in showy clusters.
Then the long leaves spotted with bright silver also shine all year round.
Beautiful silver foliage
The foliage of Pulmonaria officinalis ‘Shrimps on the Barbie’ is spangled with silver spots all over.
Sparkles in the shade
Pulmonaria positively purr growing in an easterly aspect. Though they also grow very successfully in full shade, or where there is dappled light and shade all day.
Pulmonaria also enjoy mulch, so they are happy amongst the leaf litter under trees and shrubs.
‘Shrimps on the Barbie’ is magic for bees
The flower clusters of ‘Shrimps on the Barbie’ are pure magic for feeding bees and other useful pollinating insects.
Bees and other beneficial insects just love Pulmonaria for their late winter blooms, so rich in nectar.
Low maintenance
‘Shrimps on the Barbie’ enjoys a shear to the socks in early summer after the long flowering season.
This also promotes spanking new silver spotted foliage which is a crowning beauty of ‘Shrimps on the Barbie’.
Pulmonaria officinalis ‘Shrimps on the Barbie’ is 20-30cm High in flower x 30-40cm Wide round mound of glowing silver spotted foliage.
Growing tips
- Give an occasional deep watering in summer, and water the foliage with Seasol every few weeks over summer. This will keep the lovely leaves in top order and put your plants in good heart for their long blooming.
Pulmonaria are not water-guzzlers when mulched
- Pulmonaria are particularly fond of clay-based soils provided they are not waterlogged.
So, these are good plants for gardeners struggling with clay, providing you open up the soil with plenty of organic matter.
Though any type of garden soil that is well mulched with organic matter is to the taste of Pulmonaria.
Pulmonarias – busy plants in history
"Pulmonaria" or "Lungwort" are rather unattractive names for such a pretty plant. But fortunately, across the centuries it has also acquired many more romantic common names.
Including "Mary's Tears", "Our Lady's Milk Drops", "Jerusalem Cowslip", "Soldiers and Sailors", and "Spotted Dog" (it does slightly remind of a green Dalmatian dog I suppose with all those silver spots).
"Lungwort" - a sign from heaven
The "Doctrine of Signatures" was a powerful belief amongst medieval healers and the faithful.
The doctrine explained that God had conveniently signed the plants we should use to treat which diseases.
So, the silver spotted leaves of Pulmonarias was believed a clear indication that this plant should be used to treat lung diseases such as Tuberculosis, which also produced similar spots on the lungs.
Hence the family name of "Pulmonaria", which comes from the Latin word for lung, "Pulmo".
Today, thankfully we have more effective medicine.
20-30cm High in flower x 30-40cm Wide round mound of glowing sparkling foliage.
Bulk Discount
If you buy 3-6 plants there will be a $0.50 discount per plant"
If you buy 7+ plants there will be a $1.00 discount per plant
Plants on Special are excluded
