American Solomon's-seal

Year-round

Solomon's seal is an easy shade plant for Chicago-area yards. It sends up arching stems with paired bell flowers under trees, then goes quiet and dies back by late summer. Give it shade and steady moisture the first year and it mostly takes care of itself after that.

• Plant it in part to full shade in soil that stays a little moist. It is happiest on the north or east side of the house or under trees where afternoon sun does not hit it.
• Water it deeply once a week the first summer while roots settle in. After the first year it handles normal Chicago rainfall and only needs help during a long dry stretch.
• Keep a two to three inch layer of shredded leaves or bark over the roots and just leave fallen tree leaves in place, since this plant naturally feeds on leaf litter.
• You do not need to prune it. The one common mistake is planting it in a hot, sunny front bed where the leaves scorch, so match it to a shady spot instead.

Fall

In fall the foliage turns soft yellow and then browns as the plant goes dormant for the year. This is a natural fade, not a problem, and it is a fine time to tidy the bed or divide clumps.

• Once the stems have yellowed and flopped, you can cut them back to the ground or simply let them collapse and break down on their own. Both are fine for the plant.
• Let fallen tree leaves stay over the roots as a natural blanket, or add a few inches of shredded leaves, which mimics the woodland floor this plant comes from.
• Fall is a second good window to divide an overgrown clump if you missed spring, as long as you get it in the ground a few weeks before hard freezes.

In a visible front bed the yellowed, flopping stems can read as neglect to an HOA. Cutting the faded foliage back once it has browned keeps the spot looking intentional and tidy and avoids drawing a violation letter.

Winter

Solomon's seal spends a Chicago winter fully dormant underground. There is nothing above ground to protect and the rhizomes are cold-hardy well past local winter lows, so this is a hands-off season.

• Leave a layer of shredded leaves or bark over the root zone through winter to buffer the freeze-thaw swings common around Chicago. Fallen tree leaves do the same job for free.
• Do not water dormant plants. The rhizomes rest through the cold and will send up fresh stems on their own in spring.
• Mark the spot with a small stake or plant tag if the bed is bare, so you do not accidentally dig into the resting rhizomes during winter cleanup or spring planting.

Spring

Spring is when Solomon's seal wakes up and does its best work. New stems push up and unfurl into the arching, flowering foliage. This is also the window to divide a clump if you want more.

• Once the ground thaws in April, pull back any winter mulch cover so the new shoots can push through easily, then refresh it to a two to three inch layer around the emerging stems.
• If a clump has gotten crowded, dig and divide the rhizomes in early spring before growth takes off, and replant the pieces at the same depth in another shady spot.
• Water new spring plantings and fresh divisions well so they settle in before the drier weeks of summer arrive.

Summer

Through a Chicago summer Solomon's seal holds its arching green foliage in the shade, and small blue-black berries form where the flowers were. By late summer the leaves often start to yellow and fade as the plant heads toward dormancy.

• Keep the soil lightly moist during hot, dry July and August weeks, since this is a woodland plant that dislikes baking out. A deep soak once a week in a dry spell is plenty.
• Check for slugs, which are the main pest that chews the leaves in damp shade. Hand-pick them or set a simple trap rather than reaching for anything harsh.
• The berries and the underground rhizome contain saponins that can cause stomach upset if a child or pet eats them, so point them out to family and do not let kids nibble the berries (Illinois Wildflowers).