Autumn Gentians

Autumn is a time of change. The leaves turn to beautiful shades of yellow, orange and red. However, one group of plants of significant importance to us Scots, really steal the show: autumn gentians.

Autumn gentians are small alpine plants which grow in high mountain regions. They come in a range of forms, shapes and sizes – including in a bottle! (Gentiana lutea is used to make an alcoholic drink.) In fact, the most famous autumn gentians are the blue trumpet species, such as Gentiana sino-ornata. This was discovered by George Forrest in NW Yunnan in 1904, who then sent seeds back to Edinburgh in 1912.

Scottish gentians

Many of the beautiful Scottish introductions have gained national and international acclaim. G. ‘Oban’ is a pure white form which is floriferous and multi headed. On the other hand, ‘Berrybank Sky’ is a small compact plant with a pale blue/purple flower. Ian McNaughton of Macplants Nursery  bred all of the Berrybank hybrids.

Gentiana ‘Strathmore’ is an iconic plant which produces a mass of delicately striped, lightly coloured blue funnels.

My favourite is Gentiana x macaulayi ‘Kidbrooke Seedling’. This grows at the lower end of the woodland garden near the Chinese Hillside at RBGE. The flowers lay as perfect torpedoes which will erupt from among the foliage, forming a blanket of blue.