Cardamine pratensis

lady's smock or cuckoo flower

Eventual height & spread

Cardamine pratensis

lady's smock or cuckoo flower

  • 3 × 9cm pots
  • £27.99 £9.33 each
  • available to order from summer
  • 1 litre aquatic pot
  • £21.99
  • available to order from summer
  • 3 × 1 litre aquatic pots
  • £39.99 £13.33 each
  • available to order from summer
Delivery options
  • Standard £5.99
  • Position: full or partial shade
  • Soil: moderately fertile, moist soil, or reliably damp or boggy soil
  • Rate of growth: average
  • Flowering period: April to May
  • Hardiness: fully hardy


This variable perennial can be found colonising cool, shady spots where there is a reliable source of water. They have attractively divided foliage, which will often produce new plantlets at the base of the leaflets, and in late spring or early summer, showy clusters of lilac-pink, purple or white flowers top the upright stems.

Plant Cardamine pratensis in bold drifts in wet meadows, woodland or at the edges of a pond. They also work well in boggy, shady herbaceous borders.


  • Garden care:
    Plant in reliably moist or damp soil, ideally in full sun or partial shade. It It thrives in meadows, stream edges, or as a shallow pond marginal, where it can be planted directly into the soil at or just below the water surface (up to 5cm (2in) deep). Once established, it needs little attention.

    Deadhead spent flowers to encourage a light second flush and prevent excessive self-seeding. Cut back foliage in late autumn or early winter to tidy up and prepare for regrowth in spring. Avoid letting the soil dry out, especially in summer.
    • CAUTION toxic if eaten/skin & eye irritant

    Goes well with