Fairy Spud Claytonia caroliniana

Carolina Spring Beauty is a perennial wildflower and spring ephemeral native to the North Carolina mountains. Spring ephemerals quickly bloom and seed before the canopy trees overhead leaf out. They then die down to the ground in summer after the seed capsule matures. The plant is often found in the partial shade and moist soil of fertile open woods, alluvial thickets, wetlands, riparian hardwood forests, and upland slopes. The pink to white flowers have 5 petals with darker lines giving it a striped appearance. The genus name honors John Clayton (1686-1773), who came to Virginia from England in 1705. The species name means of Carolina.

Carolina Spring Beauty does best in organically rich or loamy weil-drained, moist, mildly acidic soils in partial shade (2 to 6 hours of sun per day). It cannot grow in full shade and prefers moist soil. It is less heat tolerant than C. virginica. It is generally difficult to find for commercial sale and is listed as a threatened species in Alabama.

Carolina Spring Beauty will form a dense prostrate carpet that spreads indefinitely. However, you can divide existing plants in the spring or fall for replanting. The plant grows from corms and reaches 6 to 12 inches tall with an erect to sprawling growth pattern. Plant corms 3 inches deep and 3 inches apart in fall. The plant naturalizes easily by bulb offsets and self-seeding, and can be weedy in optimum growing conditions. The plant disappears from above ground shortly after the seed capsules have ripened.

Diseases, Insect Pests, and Other Plant Problems:

No known diseases or insect pests.