Linnaea borealis
Twinflower
L. borealis is a circumboreal species, that occurs south to
Shoreline
up to timberline
Local occurrence (where, how common)
Twinflower
occurs in several grassland and many hardwood and
coniferous forest types. In western
Partial
shade; open or dense forest; shrub thickets; boggy or rocky shorelines
Plant strategy type/successional stage (stress-tolerator, competitor, weedy/colonizer, seral, late successional)
L. borealis is described as a pioneer
species which spreads through the surface ash layer devoid of humus following a
fire. Also
described as a facultative seral species.
In
western
Monticola,
Thuja plicata and Rhamnus purshiana.
May be collected as: (seed, layered, divisions, etc.)
Division,
cuttings, seeds
Flowers
from June to Sept., and seeds mature in 36 days.
Seed germination (needs dormancy breaking?)
L. borealis does not set very much
seed, and its germination rate is about one in thirty. This makes propagation from seed, though
it should be attempted as a parallel technique, prohibitive as a basic nursery
approach to this species.
Seed life (can be stored, short shelf-life, long shelf-life)
Does not persist in seedbanks.
Air
dry the seeds, and plant in fall.
Propagation recommendations (plant seeds, vegetative parts, cuttings, etc.)
Easy
to propagate by division from young, rooted sections of runner, carefully
detached from parent plants. Can also be grown from hardwood cuttings. If planting seeds in the spring, cold
stratify for 60 days.
Soil or medium requirements (inoculum
necessary?)
Installation form (form,
potential for successful outcomes, cost)
Seed:
germination rate is about one in thirty.
Divisions
are most successful.
Not
found
Care requirements after
installed (water weekly, water once etc.)
Not
found
Less than 10cm tall. Very slow to establish; it takes seedlings about thirteen years to bloom. Vegetative reproduction by stolons is the primary method of regeneration. First produces stolons at 5-10 years of age. It is reported to spread as much as a 30 cm (1 ft) per year in lowland revegetation sites.
¤
Leigh, M. 1999. Grow You Own Native
Landscape. Native Plant Salvage Project ; WSU
Cooperative ExtensionÑ
¤
Pojar, J. and A. MacKinnon. 1994. Plants of the
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http://www.rook.org/earl/bwca/nature/shrubs/linnaea.html
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http://www.nwplants.com/plants/perennials/linnaea/linnaea_borealis/
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http://www3.sympatico.ca/oldfieldgarden/list.html
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http://www.nativeplantnetwork.org/network/view.asp?protocol
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http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/shrub/linbor/all.html