Index / Search / Mertensia virginica
§1 Plant
Mertensia virginica (L.) Pers. ex Link
vernacular Virginia bluebells — species · Boraginaceae
§2Habit & range
Habit and range
- Growth habit
- Forb/herb
- Duration
- Perennial
- Group
- Dicot
- Family
- Boraginaceae Juss.
- Genus
- Mertensia
§2a
Native status, by region
- CAN Canada Native
- L48 Lower 48 States Native
§2b
County-level range
· 256 counties across 13 states/territories§3Cultivation specs · USDA
Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.
§3a
Tolerances
- Drought
- Low
- Shade
- Low
- Moisture use
- High
- Fire
- None
- Salinity
- None
- Anaerobic
- Low
- CaCO₃
- Medium
- Hedging
- None
§3b
Climate & soil
- Cold tolerance
- -28 °F minimum
- Frost-free days
- 100 min.
- Precipitation
- 26–54 in/yr
- pH range
- 4.5–8
- Root depth
- 4 in min.
- Fertility need
- High
- Soil texture
- medium, fine
§3c
Form & growth
- Growth form
- Single Stem
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Lifespan
- Moderate
- Mature height
- 2.3 ft
- Foliage texture
- Coarse
- Foliage colour
- Green
- Porosity (summer)
- Moderate
- Porosity (winter)
- Porous
- Flower colour
- Blue
- Fire resistant
- No
- N fixation
- None
- Toxicity
- None
§3d
Reproduction
- Bloom period
- Spring
- Seed begins
- Spring
- Seed ends
- Summer
- Spread rate
- Slow
- Stratify
- No
- Seeds / lb
- 225,000
- Propagation
- seed, bare root
§3e
Use & availability
- Commercial availability
- Routinely Available
- Nursery stock
- No
- Browse palatability
- Medium
- Graze palatability
- Medium
- Palatable, human
- No
- Lumber
- No
- Christmas tree
- No
§4Counties, by state
Recorded in 256 counties across 13 states/territories.
Alabama view state ↗ 9 N ▾
Arkansas view state ↗ 7 N ▾
Delaware view state ↗ 1 N ▾
District of Columbia view state ↗ 1 N ▾
Georgia view state ↗ 7 N ▾
Kentucky view state ↗ 67 N ▾
- Adair 21001
- Allen 21003
- Anderson 21005
- Boone 21015
- Bourbon 21017
- Boyle 21021
- Breckinridge 21027
- Caldwell 21033
- Calloway 21035
- Campbell 21037
- Carroll 21041
- Carter 21043
- Christian 21047
- Clark 21049
- Clay 21051
- Edmonson 21061
- Elliott 21063
- Fayette 21067
- Floyd 21071
- Franklin 21073
- Garrard 21079
- Grant 21081
- Graves 21083
- Grayson 21085
- Hardin 21093
- Harlan 21095
- Harrison 21097
- Hart 21099
- Henderson 21101
- Henry 21103
- Hickman 21105
- Jackson 21109
- Jefferson 21111
- Jessamine 21113
- Kenton 21117
- Knox 21121
- Laurel 21125
- Lee 21129
- Lewis 21135
- Livingston 21139
- Madison 21151
- Marshall 21157
- Mason 21161
- McCreary 21147
- Meade 21163
- Mercer 21167
- Montgomery 21173
- Morgan 21175
- Ohio 21183
- Oldham 21185
- Owen 21187
- Pendleton 21191
- Powell 21197
- Pulaski 21199
- Robertson 21201
- Rockcastle 21203
- Rowan 21205
- Scott 21209
- Shelby 21211
- Simpson 21213
- Spencer 21215
- Todd 21219
- Trigg 21221
- Trimble 21223
- Union 21225
- Warren 21227
- Woodford 21239
Maine view state ↗ 1 N ▾
Massachusetts view state ↗ 1 N ▾
New Jersey view state ↗ 9 N ▾
New York view state ↗ 22 N ▾
- Broome 36007
- Cattaraugus 36009
- Chautauqua 36013
- Chemung 36015
- Chenango 36017
- Erie 36029
- Genesee 36037
- Livingston 36051
- Madison 36053
- Monroe 36055
- Nassau 36059
- Niagara 36063
- Oneida 36065
- Onondaga 36067
- Rockland 36087
- Steuben 36101
- Suffolk 36103
- Tompkins 36109
- Ulster 36111
- Warren 36113
- Wayne 36117
- Westchester 36119
Pennsylvania view state ↗ 45 N ▾
- Adams 42001
- Allegheny 42003
- Armstrong 42005
- Beaver 42007
- Bedford 42009
- Berks 42011
- Bradford 42015
- Bucks 42017
- Butler 42019
- Centre 42027
- Chester 42029
- Clinton 42035
- Cumberland 42041
- Dauphin 42043
- Delaware 42045
- Elk 42047
- Erie 42049
- Fayette 42051
- Forest 42053
- Franklin 42055
- Fulton 42057
- Greene 42059
- Huntingdon 42061
- Indiana 42063
- Juniata 42067
- Lancaster 42071
- Lawrence 42073
- Lebanon 42075
- Luzerne 42079
- Lycoming 42081
- Mercer 42085
- Mifflin 42087
- Montgomery 42091
- Northampton 42095
- Northumberland 42097
- Perry 42099
- Philadelphia 42101
- Snyder 42109
- Susquehanna 42115
- Venango 42121
- Warren 42123
- Washington 42125
- Westmoreland 42129
- Wyoming 42131
- York 42133
Virginia view state ↗ 55 N ▾
- Albemarle 51003
- Amelia 51007
- Amherst 51009
- Appomattox 51011
- Augusta 51015
- Bath 51017
- Bedford 51019
- Bland 51021
- Botetourt 51023
- Brunswick 51025
- Buchanan 51027
- Buckingham 51029
- Campbell 51031
- Charlotte 51037
- Chesterfield 51041
- Clarke 51043
- Culpeper 51047
- Cumberland 51049
- Fairfax 51059
- Fauquier 51061
- Floyd 51063
- Fluvanna 51065
- Frederick 51069
- Goochland 51075
- Greene 51079
- Halifax 51083
- Henrico 51087
- Henry 51089
- Lee 51105
- Loudoun 51107
- Louisa 51109
- Lunenburg 51111
- Madison 51113
- Mecklenburg 51117
- Middlesex 51119
- Montgomery 51121
- Nelson 51125
- Nottoway 51135
- Orange 51137
- Page 51139
- Patrick 51141
- Pittsylvania 51143
- Prince Edward 51147
- Prince William 51153
- Pulaski 51155
- Roanoke 51161
- Rockbridge 51163
- Rockingham 51165
- Russell 51167
- Shenandoah 51171
- Smyth 51173
- Spotsylvania 51177
- Stafford 51179
- Warren 51187
- Washington 51191
West Virginia view state ↗ 31 N ▾
- Barbour 54001
- Berkeley 54003
- Brooke 54009
- Cabell 54011
- Calhoun 54013
- Fayette 54019
- Grant 54023
- Hampshire 54027
- Hancock 54029
- Hardy 54031
- Jefferson 54037
- Kanawha 54039
- Lincoln 54043
- Logan 54045
- Marion 54049
- Mercer 54055
- Monongalia 54061
- Monroe 54063
- Morgan 54065
- Ohio 54069
- Pocahontas 54075
- Preston 54077
- Raleigh 54081
- Randolph 54083
- Ritchie 54085
- Summers 54089
- Tucker 54093
- Upshur 54097
- Wetzel 54103
- Wirt 54105
- Wyoming 54109
§5Sources & provenance
USDA PLANTS
Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.
plants.usda.gov/MEVI3 ↗GBIF Backbone
Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.
gbif.org/species/5341242 ↗Record version
Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:
usda-plants-mt-2026-05-26
fetched 2026-05-26T05:06:36Z