When my day/week/month is going to heck in a handbasket, when faced with yet another impending-doom deadline, when the pile of folders on my desk grows so tall I can barely see over it… when the going gets tough, a little bit of cute can go a loooong way.
So here ’tis:
Thalictrum thalictroides ‘Pink Pearl’
Not many plants fall into the "cute as a kitten/puppy/baby duck OMG" category, but this is one of them.
Used to be Anemonella thalictroides, but recent molecular "fingerprinting" puts it into the (rather redundant) genus Thalictrum. This April-blooming woodland native (eastern North America) usually has bright white flowers. ‘Pink Pearl’ is a marvelous pinky-lavender selection made by Dr. Jeanne Frett and the gang at the Mt. Cuba Center, Greenville, Delaware.
I took this photo at Mt. Cuba in 2008 and have waited impatiently for ‘Pink Pearl’ to appear in the trade ever since. If anyone has any info as to where to get one, do fill me in.
I don’t know a source for ‘Pink Pearl’ but Arrowhead has the even cuter pink ‘Cameo’ with double flowers http://www.arrowheadshopping.com/anemonella-thalictroides-double-pink-cameo-4554.html
Ah, beautiful. Is it an ephemeral?
As for me, I’d take Pink Pearl over Cameo – not generally fond of double flowers.
The Flower Factory in Stoughton,WI (an awesome place!) has the plant still listed under old name but no cultivars listed in their 2012 catalog. Plus no mail order (you must go if one ever is near Madison,WI)
Blanchette’s (in Carlisle, MA) has ‘Pink Pearl’, as well as several other cultivars:
http://www.blanchettegardens.com/catalog.html#a
Alas, no mail-order.
Comparing the pink-flowering forms side-by-side, ‘Pink Pearl’ was a standout.
Blanchette Gardens is now out of business. I have Pink Pearl but am trying to decide how to market it. I haven’t found anyone selling it mail order in the states. I’m looking for someone who would like to distribute it.
Oh that I could do a cross-country nursery/garden center adventure. Thanks for the comments and info!
If your herbaceous students miss the “Thalictrum that looks like a Thalictrum”, they should get extra minus points. I’ve been waiting on this one too. I thought North Creek would have it by now.
I just bought one at The Delaware Nature Society annual plant sale last week. Maybe someone there can supply the name of the grower for you. Good Luck