Transcript Plant Descriptions

Blue Vervain
Verbena hastata
It produces slender flower spikes arranged like a
candelabra. The tiny blue or white flowers bloom and die
from the bottoms of the spikes.
• Common Name: Swamp Verbena
• Family: Vervain (Verbenaceae)
• Habitat: damp thickets, roadsides, shores
• Height: 2-6 feet
• Flower size: 1/8 inch wide
• Flower color: blue-purple
• Flowering time: July to September
• Origin: native
Fun Fact: In ancient times, the plant was thought to be a cure-all among
medicinal plants and the genus name is Latin for sacred plant.
How to grow:
Biennial. Blue Vervain
likes sun, part-shade or
shade and moist soil.
Propagation:
Propagate by seed. Seed
requires cool-moist
stratification for 30 days.
After stratification, seeds
can be incubated at from
60-80 degrees in the
presence of light.
Benefits:
Buckeye
•Attracts bees, birds,
butterfliesbuckeye
common
•Larval host to common
buckeye
Sneezeweed
Helenium autumnale
The yellow-green disk at the center of the flowers is a
distinguishing mark for sneezeweed.
• Common Name: Swamp Sunflower
• Family: Aster (Asteraceae)
• Habitat: wet meadows, thickets, swamps
• Height: 2-5 feet
• Flower size: heads 1-1/2 inches across
• Flower color: yellow
• Flowering time: August to November
• Origin: native
Warning: POISONOUS PARTS: Leaves, flowers, seeds. Toxic only if eaten in
large quantities. Toxic Principle: Sesquiterpene lactone.
Fun Fact: Sneezeweed does not derive its common name from the effects of its
pollen. It was crushed to make a snuff that promoted sneezing.
How to grow:
Sneezeweeds like moist,
very rich soil and a
location in full sun. Set the
plants two or more feet
apart. Stake taller types.
To keep tall types neater,
cut them back very hard
around July 4. They will
branch out and bloom on
shorter, bushier stems.
Deadhead plants after
blooms have started to
fade.
Propagation:
By division in early spring
and from seed.
Benefits:
Conspicuous Flowers
Attracts birds
Green-headed Coneflower
Rudbeckia laciniata
A sunflower-like perennial, green-head coneflower’s
branched, leafy stalk grows 3-12 ft. tall. The center cones
elongate and become brownish as the seeds ripen.
• Common Name: Cut-leaf Coneflower
• Family: Aster (Asteraceae)
• Habitat: moist rich fields and thickets
• Height: 3-12 feet
• Flower size: flowerhead 3 inches across
• Flower color: yellow rays around a green disk
• Flowering time: July to September
• Origin: native
Fun Fact: Called Coneflowers because of their look, with petals splayed back,
they display long nectar-filled centers that make them the perfect flower for a
butterfly garden.
How to grow:
Rudbeckia flowers prefer
moisture-retentive soil with
partial shade or full-sun.
Propagation:
Untreated seed
Benefits:
•Conspicuous Flowers
•Attracts birds
Spotted Joe-Pye-weed
Eupatoriadelphus maculatus
Has clusters of dull pink flowers. An important source of
honey attracting pollinators.
• Family: Aster (Asteraceae)
• Habitat: wet thickets, meadows
• Height: 2-6 feet
• Flower size: tiny, in clusters 4-6 inches across
• Flower color: dull pink
• Flowering time: July to September
• Origin: native
Fun Fact: Spotted Joe-Pye weed got its name for having dark purple spots on its
stems, though sometimes the stems are solid dark purple.
How to grow:
Can grow in sun, shade or
part-shade. Moist
conditions. Divide the
plants in fall as they go
dormant, or in the spring
just as shoots first appear.
Propagation:
Sow seeds in the fall and
plant thickly as
germination is usually low.
Propagation is also
possible by softwood
cuttings taken in late
spring for by division.
Benefits:
•Fragrant Flowers
•Attracts birds
Narrow-leaved Mountain-mint
Pycnanthemum tenuifolium
The minty-smelling plants have terminal flower clusters
composed of numerous, small, two-lipped corollas with
purple spots.
• Common Name: Mountain Mint
• Family: Mint (Lamiaceae)
• Habitat: fields, thickets, dry woods
• Height: 1-3 feet
• Flower size: 1/4 inch long, blooming on disk-shaped heads around 3/4 inch
across
• Flower color: pale purple to white with purple spots
• Flowering time: July to October
• Origin: native
Fun Fact: Dried leaves may be used as flavorings and in teas. Used to repel
mosquitoes by rubbing leaves on skin. Bees and butterflies use flowers. Deer eat
leaves. Numerous animals eat seeds.
How to grow:
Mountain Mint grows in
sun or part-shade with
medium moisture. Begins
to bloom when grown to ~
1 ft. wide.
Propagation:
Best propagated cuttings
or divisions. Tip cuttings
are easy and reliable,
taken in June. For
divisions, lift the clump in
late fall or early spring and
use pruning shears to
divide the shallow.
Benefits:
•Conspicuous Flowers
•Fragrant / Interesting
Foliage
•Attracts Birds, Butterflies
•Nectar Source
Black-eyed Susan
Rudbeckia hirta
This native prairie biennial forms a rosette of leaves the first
year, followed by flowers the second year. It is covered with
hairs that give it a slightly rough texture.
• Family: Aster (Asteraceae)
• Habitat: fields, open woods, roadsides
• Height: 1-3 feet
• Flower size: 2-3 inches across
• Flower color: yellow and dark brown
• Flowering time: June to October
Origin: Midwestern U.S.
Fun Fact: This annuals may bloom longer with some afternoon shade. Birds
enjoy the ripe seeds. Black-eyed Susan can become aggressive if given too
perfect an environment and not enough competition.
How to grow: Black
Eyed Susans like sun,
part-shade, shade. Moist
but well-drained soil.
Gorgone Checkerspot
Propagation:
Propagates very easily
from seed sown in fall or
spring. The seed requires
several days of moisture
and should germinate in
one to two weeks.
Benefits:
Bordered Patch
•Conspicuous Flowers
•Attracts Nectar-Bees,
Nectar-Butterflies, Nectarinsects, Seed Granivorous
birds
•Larval Host to Gorgone
Checkerspot, Bordered
Patch butterfly
New England Aster
Symphyotrichum novae-angliae
Compared to other native asters, New England aster flowers
have more rays (around 40) and, usually, more intense
purple color.
• Family: Aster (Asteraceae)
• Habitat: damp thickets and meadows
• Height: 3-7 feet
• Flower size: flowerheads around 1-1/2 inches across
• Flower color: purple rays around a yellow disk
• Flowering time: August to October
• Origin: native
Fun Fact: Bees and butterflies frequent this wildflower. Nectar source for
Monarch butterflies.
How to grow: New
England aster flowers until
frost. Its roots should be
divided every several
years to keep the plant
growing vigorously. Can
be aggressive.
Propagation:
Mature plants can be
divided in the spring by
sectioning off individual
stems
Benefits:
Pearl Crescent
•Conspicuous Flowers
•Attracts Butterflies
•Larval Host: Pearl
Crescent (Phyciodes
tharos) and checkerspot
butterflies
•Nectar Source
Spiderwort
Tradescantia ohiensis
The branched, erect stems of bluejacket or Ohio spiderwort
are tinged purple and bear grass-like leaves from up to eight
nodes. The total height is from 2-3 ft. Showy clusters of
blue, three-petaled flowers top the stems.
• Family: Spiderwort (Commelinaceae)
• Habitat: open woods, thickets & roadsides
• Height: 1 to 3 feet
• Flower size: 1 to 1-1/2 inches across
• Flower color: blue or purple
• Flowering time: May to July
• Origin: native
Fun Fact: Flowers tend to open in the morning. When touched in the heat of the
day, the flowers shrivel to a fluid jelly.
How to grow:
Spiderwort likes part
shade, low water use.
Various wet to dry soils.
Propagation:
Divide in early fall or very
early spring. Stem cuttings
may be taken any time
during the growing
season.
Swamp Milkweed
Asclepias incarnata
The large, bright, terminal blossoms of this showy perennial
are made up of small, rose-purple flowers. Opposite,
narrow, lance-shaped leaves line the erect, open-branched
stem. Elongated, tan-brown seed pods persist into winter.
• Family: Milkweed (Asclepiadaceae)
• Habitat: swamps, wet spots
• Height: 2-4 feet
• Flower size: 1/4 inch across
• Flower color: pink
• Flowering time: June to August
• Origin: native
Warning: ALL PARTS ARE POISONOUS if eaten in large quantities. Toxic
Principle: Cardiac glycosides and resinoids.
Fun Fact: Milkweeds are an important food source for the monarch caterpillars.
How to grow: likes
sun or part-shade, high
moisture soil. Will
inevitably have aphids;
only a problem if plant
looks sick; spray the plant
and aphids with soapy
water or support plant with
your hand and blast it with
high-pressure water.
Propagation:
Easy to start from seed.
Collect seeds in Oct./Nov.
Established plants may be
divided in the spring.
Benefits:
Monarch
Queen
•Fragrant Flowers
•Attracts Hummingbirds,
Butterflies
•Larval Host: Monarch and
Queen butterflies
Blazing-star
Liatris spicata
The linear, grass-like leaves are clumped toward the base of
the plant extend up the stem to the showy flower cluster. A
tall spike of rayless, rose-purple (sometimes white), closely
set flower heads.
• Common Name: Gayfeather
• Family: Aster (Asteraceae)
• Habitat: open sites with dry, sandy soil; fields, thickets, sand dunes
• Height: 2-5 feet
• Flower size: tiny flowers in heads 3/4 to 1 inch across
• Flower color: purple
• Flowering time: July to September
• Origin: native
Fun Fact: The purple, tufted flower heads are arranged in a long, dense spike
bloom which from the top down. The protruding styles give the flower an overall
feathery appearance, hence its alternate name, Dense Gayfeather.
How to grow: Liatris
likes sun and medium
moist soil.
Propagation: Wait
until the flower heads on
the entire stalk have
turned fluffy tan before
collecting seeds. Sow in
late fall / early spring.
Benefits:
•Conspicuous Flowers
•Attracts Birds,
Hummingbirds