Gentiana

Gentiana, the gentians, are among the most coveted and botanically distinguished perennials for Martha's Vineyard's cool, moist, partially shaded garden settings, producing intensely blue tubular flowers in late summer and fall that rival any blue available in the perennial palette. The bottle gentian, Gentiana andrewsii, thrives in the consistently moist, acidic, humus-rich soils of sheltered partly shaded borders on up-island properties in West Tisbury and Chilmark, where cool maritime temperatures moderate the heat stress that limits gentian performance in warmer climates. The late-season bloom timing, August through October for most species, makes gentians invaluable in the late-garden calendar of island properties.

Deer resistance is reliable. Estate Care professionals treat gentians as collector's plants in the highest-quality shade garden programs on the island, selecting appropriate species carefully by site conditions and building the supporting soil quality required to sustain their exacting cultural requirements over the long term.