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Cream Gentian
Gentiana flavida

a.k.a. Gentiana alba

Cream Gentian are mainly pollinated by bumblebees because they are the only insects strong enough to force open its closed flowers. The first of native Gentian species to bloom in late summer, Cream Gentian is a slow-growing but long-lived perennial.

USDA symbol: GEAL4

General Information

Plant TypeForb
Height2 to 3 feet
Light ExposureSun, Part Sun
Soil MoistureDry, Medium
Bloom ColorWhite
Cream Gentian (Cream Gentian<div><em class="small">Gentiana flavida</em></div>)
Photo credit: Prairie Moon Nursery (Click to enlarge)

Tolerances

Flooding / Inundation ToleranceModerate
General Resilience5
Salt ToleranceMedium
Stress ToleranceAlkaline Conditions

Pollinator Value: Medium

Bloom MonthsSeptember to October
Pollinator BenefitInsect Pollinated, Provides Nectar

Project Planning

Project TypeRain Garden, Shoreline Buffer
Herbivore SensitivityLow
LifespanPerennial
Rate of SpreadSlow
Soil StabilizationShallow
Vegetative ReproductionAbsent

Range

CountyAnoka, Blue Earth, Cottonwood, Dakota, Fillmore, Freeborn, Goodhue, Hennepin, Houston, Mower, Olmsted, Pine, Ramsey, Rice, Stearns, Steele, Wabasha, Waseca, Washington, Winona
EcoregionDriftless Area, North Central Hardwood Forests, Northern Lakes and Forests, Western Cornbelt Plains
Approximate Eco ProvinceEastern Broadleaf Forest, Laurentian Mixed Forest, Prairie Parkland