Gayla Trail
Gayla is a writer, photographer, and former graphic designer with a background in the Fine Arts, cultural criticism, and ecology. She is the author, photographer, and designer of best-selling books on gardening, cooking, and preserving.

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12 thoughts on “Bloodroot, Double-flowered”

  1. I just picked up a bloodroot at a plant sale, wonder if it’s too late to get it to bloom this year? That double one is amazing!

  3. This plant does not exist in the wild and you should be clear in identifying it as such. You should call it Sanguinaria canadensis “Multiplex” or whatever cultivar it is from.

  4. John: I don’t know which cultivar it is from, which is why I didn’t include one. Your repeated use of the word “should” is very demanding if not a bit dramatic.

    If I had talked about bloodroot as a native/wild flower and had included this cultivated variety in that context then you might have had cause to berate me.

  6. You called your plant Sanguinaria canadensis which is inaccurate. Labelling the “double flowered” variety this way could be confusing to some. I am only asking that you be more accurate when identifying plants.

  7. John: Holy crap, it’s a picture with a short one-sentence story about how the plant came to me.

    Regarding my oh-so dreadful mistake in naming, the only difference would be the addition of the cultivar name and I made it clear that this was a gift plant — I don’t know the cultivar name and neither did the man who gave it to me. Yes, I could have put “unknown cultivar” next to the botanical name, but come on John, this is just splitting hairs for the sake of being argumentative.

    What bothers me isn’t that you felt the need to point out my terrible error, but that you needed to do it in a rude, demanding, and shaming manner. This is really indicative of a certain portion of gardeners who are more interested in telling others how very wrong they are then in sharing knowledge.

    I love plants, I’m going to guess you love plants too. Can’t we agree to communicate in a way that maintains that common bond and spirit?

  8. the multiplex is a natural sport
    it was identified and then propagated through splicing

    I love plants too but serisouly, isn’t gardening meant to relax us?

  9. Gayla, I wish I would have commented before reading certain other comments. I was simply going to say beautiful plant, beautiful photo, thanks for sharing. I could look at this image every day — love the composition and lighting.

    After reading the comments and in an attempt to stay positive…oh, I better just stay quiet except to say you communicate very effectively and in a way that makes me want to learn more.

  11. Gayla, my apologies for sounding rude but I just want to be sure you know what you are talking about. I have no problem calling this plant Bloodroot. But the latin genus/species name has a specific scientific meaning. It refers to a particular plant that grows naturally in our forests. The plant that is growing in your garden is related to Sanguinaria canadensis but it has been bred for certain characteristics, in this case multiple petals. In essence, it is a constructed plant that would not naturally occur without human interference. That is why it needs to be referred to as a cultivar. So you can either remove the latin name altogether or add the cultivar qualifier, that is my suggestion. All I am doing is asking you to make a simple correction in the name of accuracy. If there can’t be truth in communication who can you believe?

  12. That is beautiful, and I’ve never seen double-flowered bloodroot before. I wonder if it’s difficult to find!

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