Jacob's ladder 'Stairway to Heaven'
Polemonium reptans 'Stairway to Heaven' · Polemoniaceae
Ladder-like leaves of green edged in cream, flushed pink in cool spring weather, with sprays of pale blue bells.
- Size
- 12 in tall, 18 in wide
- Zones
- 3 to 7
- Light
- Part shade to shade
- Flowers
- Early May to early June
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around Jacob's ladder 'Stairway to Heaven'
The planner designed this bed around Jacob's ladder 'Stairway to Heaven' when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, part shade. It chose the other plants from the 513 that suit those conditions, and says below why Jacob's ladder 'Stairway to Heaven' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Jacob's ladder 'Stairway to Heaven' × 8, blue
- 2 London pride × 8, pink
- 3 Northern sea oats × 3, tan
- 4 Foxglove × 4, purple
- 5 Inkberry 'Gem Box' × 1, dark green leaves
- 6 False Solomon's seal × 3, white
- 7 Winter cyclamen × 12, pink
- 8 Yellow trout lily × 8, yellow
Why this plant
- The only blue.
Why here
- On the front edge. At 12 in it frames the bed without hiding it, and it is in leaf all season. It finishes 68% of the edge.
- 8 plants in 2 runs (5 and 3). Runs of different lengths make the edge a frame, not a ruled line.
Why now
- In flower for six weeks. From early May to early June.
- Part of the bed's peak. With london pride, foxglove and false Solomon's seal in early June: 4 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as an English border: 6 of the 6 groups (100%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Cool colours (blue, pink and purple) with yellow as the warm note, and tan and white to calm things between them. Inkberry 'Gem Box', fine in leaf, stands next to bold-leaved foxglove, and each shows the other off.
The planner's own design check: 14 Excellent, 2 Good, 1 Satisfactory. It flags one thing to watch: Foxglove is highly poisonous to people, dogs, cats and horses. Northern sea oats spreads aggressively.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where Jacob's ladder 'Stairway to Heaven' goes in a border
At 12 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is low (6 to 12 in).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
A variegated form of the native creeping Jacob's ladder, much tougher in heat than the European variegated kinds. It is a foliage plant from April to October.
- Variegated foliage for shade
- Native woodland gardens
- Edging a shady path
What to plant with Jacob's ladder 'Stairway to Heaven'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Hosta 'Halcyon': its blue-green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; bold leaves against its fine ones; spires rising out of its mound.
- Japanese painted fern: its silver leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; happy in the same moist soil.
- Foamflower: in flower together for five weeks, from early May; spires rising out of its mound; happy in the same moist soil.
Questions about Jacob's ladder 'Stairway to Heaven'
Does Jacob's ladder 'Stairway to Heaven' need sun or shade?
Jacob's ladder 'Stairway to Heaven' grows in part shade (2 to 4 hours of sun, mostly in the morning) and shade (less than 2 hours of direct sun, or bright dappled light).
It wants soil that stays evenly moist, rich in organic matter, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does Jacob's ladder 'Stairway to Heaven' grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 7. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °C).
Above zone 7 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does Jacob's ladder 'Stairway to Heaven' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers early May to early June. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 3 | Mid May to mid June |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Early May to mid June |
| Zone 5 | Early May to early June |
| Zone 6 | Late April to early June |
| Zone 7 | Mid April to late May |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should Jacob's ladder 'Stairway to Heaven' be planted?
16 in (40 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 18 in (45 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 12 in (30 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many Jacob's ladder 'Stairway to Heaven' plants do I need?
At 16 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 7 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 8 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 21 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as a group of three or five, with a second group further along in the other number.
In the bed above, the planner used eight in two groups.
Is Jacob's ladder 'Stairway to Heaven' poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Do deer eat Jacob's ladder 'Stairway to Heaven'?
They may. NC State does not list it as resistant to deer or rabbits. Where they visit, protect it, or plant it among ones they avoid.
What flowers after Jacob's ladder 'Stairway to Heaven'?
Jacob's ladder 'Stairway to Heaven' is over by early June. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Lady's mantle: from late May to early July, 18 in tall.
- Astilbe: from late June to mid July, 24 in tall.
- Cranesbill 'Rozanne': from early June to early October, 18 in tall.
What does Jacob's ladder 'Stairway to Heaven' look like in winter?
Jacob's ladder 'Stairway to Heaven' dies down to the ground and there is nothing to see until spring. The old stems can be cut in autumn, or left until spring as shelter for overwintering insects.
Is Jacob's ladder 'Stairway to Heaven' good for bees and butterflies?
Jacob's ladder 'Stairway to Heaven' is visited by bees.
It is native to the United States (this is a named variety of the native plant).
More Polemonium
- Creeping Jacob's ladder Polemonium reptans
- Jacob's ladder Polemonium caeruleum
In these guides
- Pet-safe plants for shade
- Native perennials for pollinators
- Native plants for shade
- Plants for bees
- Low plants for the front of a border
- Plants with blue flowers
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 12 in (30 cm) tall, 18 in (45 cm) wide
- Plant
- 16 in (40 cm) apart
- Height class
- Low (6 to 12 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Early May to early June; hanging bells; blue, lavender
- Leaves
- Fine texture, herbaceous; variegated
- Shape
- Mounding, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 7
- Light
- Part shade, shade
- Soil
- Rich, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Polemoniaceae
- Comes from
- Northern America
- Attracts
- Bees
Checked against NC State Extension and VASCAN (plants of Canada). Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.