Cardamine pratensis - Cuckooflower, Native Bog Plant

Cardamine pratensis, known as cuckooflower or lady's smock, is a UK native wild flower of damp grassland, wet meadows, ditches and riverbanks. From April to June it carries four-petalled flowers in pale lilac-pink to white above a rosette of leaves with rounded leaflets.

Cuckooflower at a glance

Is cuckooflower a pond plant?

It is a bog and wet-meadow plant, not a water plant. Plant it in damp or wet soil beside a pond, in a bog garden or in a damp meadow, but not under water.

Is cuckooflower good for wildlife?

Yes. It is on the RHS Plants for Pollinators list, and it is a key food plant of the orange-tip butterfly, whose caterpillars feed on the seed pods. At least 19 insect species are recorded feeding on it.

Where to plant it

• A bog garden or damp ground beside a wildlife pond
• A wet meadow or damp grassland
• Full sun or part shade

Our plants are nursery-grown. Please never dig up wild plants.

Which size should I buy?

Bare-root plants (7 cm, 9 cm, 1 litre and 3 litre) arrive without a pot or compost and are the most economical way to plant a group. Potted plants (9 cm, 1 litre and 3 litre) arrive growing in our peat-free compost and give a faster display. Packs of 3 come in 7 cm, 9 cm, 1 litre and 3 litre bare-root sizes and cost less per plant. The 2x Pot & Compost option is two plants supplied with pots and compost.