Pulmonaria ‘Roy Davidson’

Pulmonaria ‘Roy Davidson’ is a deciduous to semievergreen (in warm climates) perennial offering 3 seasons to nearly year-round interest. Blooming in early spring, the plant sets drooping clusters dense with funnel-shaped flowers that emerge from hot pink buds, turn pale pink, and mature to sky blue with age. Bees adore these pollen and nectar-rich flowers.

A Pulmonaria longifolia, commonly known as lungwort, ‘Roy Davidson’ is a bushy, herbaceous plant with a low growing, spreading habit of large, narrow, medium green leaves, generously speckled and spotted with silver, that form a fuzzy basal rosette. Rhizomatous, the plant slowly spreads by creeping roots, but is not invasive. A cottage garden classic, shown to best effect when massed or grouped, lungwort is typically grown as a showy groundcover in mixed beds and borders, but it makes a fine specimen and container plant too. It is especially nice planted in large drifts with ferns and astilbes or under trees, shrubs, and large clumps of daylilies and peonies.

Tough and adaptable, lungwort prefers full to dappled shade and cool, humusy, organically rich, evenly moist but well-drained soils, but it tolerates some morning sun. The plant is very intolerant of wet soils but should never be allowed to dry out completely; however, it does tolerate some drought once established. It is deer and black walnut resistant. Cut off old flowering stems to tidy the plant and prevent self-seeding. Divide clumps in fall if overcrowded.