Jacob’s ladder is a North American wildflower well worth growing in the home garden. Masses of flowers float above mounding foliage early in the spring, attracting early season pollinators. In its native range of Eastern Canada and the United States (east of the Mississippi River), Jacob’s ladder thrives in woodlands with well-draining soil that is moist and fertile. Like other spring ephemerals, Jacob’s ladder appears for a short period in spring before going dormant once the weather turns hot in summer. This short-lived, but very useful plant is great for growing in a garden bed or as part of a mixed-color planter.
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Jacob’s ladder adds a touch of dramatic blue or pink to the predominantly yellow and white colors of most spring bulbs and perennials. Ensure the planting location has good drainage, even in the winter. Early blooming plants are highly susceptible to root rot and struggle in heavy soils. Mulching the plants with organic compost after flowering improves the soil structure while helping to suppress annual weeds.
Shrubs To Plant With Jacob’s Ladder
Plant Jacob’s ladder as a facer plant or ground cover for spring-blooming shrubs. The light and airy flowering stems of Jacob’s ladder add contrast against sturdy evergreens like rhododendrons, kalmia, daphne, and holly shrubs. Deciduous shrubs like lilacs, forsythia, snowberry, and kerria all bloom with Jacob’s ladder during the spring and attract pollinators. Jacob’s ladder’s blue flowers complement the pastel blooms of these shrubs and set off the deep reds and maroons of Japanese maples, pieris, and cleyera as they leaf out.
Perennials To Plant With Jacob’s Ladder
In the spring, Jacob’s ladder’s blue and pink flowers work beautifully with lady’s mantle, columbine, heuchera, galanthus, and blue gentian to carpet a shady garden in pollinator-friendly blooms. In a shady, cool location, Jacob’s ladder often retains its foliage through the summer, which makes a great backdrop for other foliage perennials, such as ferns, hostas, Japanese forest grass, and wild ginger. It also grows well with many late-season ground covers like sweet woodruff, meadow rue, and low-growing sedges.
Annuals To Plant With Jacob’s Ladder
Hardy annuals thrive in the cooler temperatures of early spring and can be used to highlight the fantastic foliage and delicate flowers of Jacob’s ladder. For a wide range of colors, consider primroses, pansies, violas, and forget-me-nots, which will suit just about any garden design. Warm-season annuals like impatiens, ivy-leaf geraniums, fuchsia, and coleus can be planted as a ground cover to take advantage of the solid green background of Jacob’s ladder. Annual bedding plants allow for a change of direction every year, without costing too much money or effort.
Best Companion Plants For Jacob’s Ladder in Containers
Plant spring blooming bulbs as companions for Jacob’s ladder in a container for a shaded deck or entryway. Crocus, snowdrops, smaller daffodils, and grape hyacinth look great as filler plants and can be planted much closer in a pot than in a garden bed, giving the whole design a full and decadent look. No-fuss pansies, violas, and primroses are also great friends for Jacob’s ladder, adding many weeks of color with nearly no maintenance involved.
Ensure that your container has excellent drainage and is placed in a spot that does not experience any standing water. Using dedicated ‘pot feet’ (or simply bricks) placed under pots in wet areas to ensure the container fully drains.
Plants Not To Grow With Jacob’s Ladder
Jacob’s Ladder is a woodland plant that should not be grown in intense sunlight. Tropical late-season annuals like mandevilla, banana plants, canna lily, and tropical hIbiscus typically require full sun and do not grow well with Jacob’s ladder. Plants that thrive in boggy soils, like Egyptian papyrus and gunnera, struggle in well-drained soil and require more sun than Jacob’s Ladder.
Best Plants To Grow With Jacob’s Ladder
Spring-blooming bulbs, herbaceous perennials, and early season annuals make ideal companions for the deep blue flowers of Jacob’s ladder. Choose plants that appreciate partially shaded spots with rich, loamy soil that drains well. Pansies and violas are some of the hardiest annuals and grow easily alongside Jacob’s Ladder in a woodland garden.
Sources: “Polemonium reptans – Jacob’s Ladder.” University of Wisconsin Arboretum. arboretum.wisc.edu