Lily, Corn (Veratrum californicum), packet of 20 seeds

Family:  Lily (Liliaceae)

Hardy to Zones 5 to 9, best at elevation

(California Corn Lily, White Hellebore, Veratrum californicum) Poisonous monocot native to the Sierra Nevada, Siskiyou and Rocky Mountains.  Traditional usage (TWM, homeopathy): high blood pressure. Low-dose botanical.  Source of cyclopamine.  A strong and comely herb of the alpine meadows and the garden, where it may be cultivated in full sun or part shade in rich, moist, acidic soils. We note the requirement of fresh seed and distribute only seed from the recent harvest.  Germination requires a warm/cold/warm treatment. Best sown in outdoor conditions in cool, moist shade. To do this, lay the seed on surface of peaty potting soil in a gallon pot, then cover with 1/4 inch of peat and leave in the shadehouse (or if this is not available, then I suppose on the porch or some other place that is cool and shady). Winter freeeze is not a problem.  Keep evenly moist until early spring, which is when the seedlings will emerge.  Alternatively, place seeds in moist (not wet!) medium in a sealed plastic bag and leave at room temperature (70 degrees F) for 30 days, then refrigerate (40 degrees F) for 90 days, then plant in standard shadehouse conditions (ie cool, moist shade).  Work up seedlings individually in pots and transplant to the garden or landscape only after they are sufficiently sized up, which usually takes a year.  They appreciate a place where the soil is cool and evermoist, and under these conditions will, in time, make a dense patch.

20 seeds per packet, Open Pollinated, Untreated, NO GMO’s