2-3'H Perennials

Who knew you could get such a rich dark purple from Salvia greggii?! Loads of royal purple, 2-lipped tubular flowers are born in from spring to fall on this low mounding, durable perennial. Great for Hummingbirds and Butterflies! Drought tolerant, deer resistant, and low maintenance. Create a mass of purple flowers in the garden or use it in containers, either way expect to be wowed by Nuevo Leon Autumn Sage! Item#10273.

Beginning as early as midsummer the branching stems are cloaked in 1/2" wide white daisies with a contrasting yellow eye eventually becoming reddish. The nectar and pollen laden flowers attract mainly smaller pollinators like bees providing an important late summer source for winter stores. The Ontario Aster, Symphiotrichum ontarionis, is a native perennial that colonizes via rhizomes and grows to about 30-40"H. It is found mainly in the central US from coastal Louisiana north to Canada commonly in semi-shaded sites along stream banks, bogs, and similar consistently moist locations. Deadhead once flowering is complete to minimize reseeding if desired but songbirds may enjoy the small seeds if they are left to ripen. This species is very similar to and is often confused with other white flowered late summer and fall flowering asters. Caterpillar host: Field Crescent, Pearl Crescent, Texan Crescent, Roadside Checkerspot, Hoffman's Checkerspot, and American Lady. Item# 12775

The exceptionally dark purple to near black foliage provides the perfect foil for the numerous 2-3' high spikes of light lavender tubular flowers that appear white against their backdrop. Onyx and Pearls Penstemon or Beardtongue begins flowering in late spring to early summer providing weeks of color and a feast of nectar for hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees. Even when not in flower the cloak of dark foliage provides a wonderful contrast for its neighbors. This easy to grow, clump-forming perennial is a selection of our native Foxglove Beardtongue, Penstemon digitalis, and will perform best in a moist to average moist, well-drained soil and a full to mostly sunny site will provide the darkest foliage color. Images courtesy of Walter's Gardens, Inc., all rights reserved. Item# 12308

Large rounded clusters of 2" orange-yellow tubular flowers sit like golden crowns atop the large rich green tropical foliage of this rare beautiful tropical. Easy and rewarding, the Golden Crown Jacobinia flowers throughout the year creating a small herbaceous plant to about 2' high and wide. Excellent for hummingbirds! Caterpillar host: White Peacock and Malachite. Item# 10102.

A 2020 Missouri Botanic Gardens Plant of Merit selection! 3-5" wide light pale pink to purplish pink coneflowers with drooping petals are held well above the rosette of narrow foliage on sturdy stems. Flowering normally occurs in late spring and summer and the nectar rich disk flowers attract bees, butterflies, and other pollinators. The Pale Purple Coneflower, Echinacea pallida, closely resembles the Sanguin Purple Coneflower, E. sanguinea, and like its cousin it is a taprooted, clump-forming perennial found mainly in the central US in meadows, glades, and other open areas. Its clump forming habit lends it to use in the garden and landscape as well as in naturalistic settings. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in a well-drained soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Item# 12392

Tall spikes growing to 36" high are adorned in whorls of deep fuchsia, foxglove-like flowers beginning in mid to late spring and contuing into fall and attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Parade of Parrots Penstemon or Beardtongue is a clump-forming, herbaceous perennial developed from US native species and was selected for its brilliant color, excellent flower power, and vigor. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in a well-drained soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Remove spent flowering stems to help keep the plants flowering and looking clean. Parade of Parrots Penstemon is small enough to enjoy as a container plant but will also make a statement in the garden and landscape. Photos courtesy of Terra Nova Nurseries, Inc., www.terranovanurseries.com, all rights reserved. Item# 13324

Small clusters of unusual looking, funnel-shaped deep red flowers are tipped with contrasting white and green with the insides of the flowers being streaked and flecked with brown. The flowers are produced in early to midsummer atop 2-3' high stems and attract hummingbirds and other pollinators. The Parrot Lily, Alstroemeria psittacina, is an old pass-a-long heirloom perennial whose rhizomatous habit may be too aggressive for most garden settings but in the right location it makes an easy and rewarding informal groundcover. Alstroemerias prefer an average moist, fertile, well-drained soil and tend to be sturdiest where they receive atleast 4 hours of direct sunlight. *Where summers are hot, consider providing shade or filtered shade during the hottest part of the day. These also serve as long-lasting and popular fresh cut flowers. Item# 12831

A slightly more compact Joe-Pye Weed-like hybrid, in summer Phantom Eupatorium produces large rounded clusters of purplish-pink flowers that sit atop sturdy dark maroon stems adorned with large medium green Joe-Pye Weed-like foliage. This clump forming herbaceous perennial was selected for its shorter branchier habit, excellent flower power, and mildew resistance but in all other regards is very similar to its larger growing parent. At maturity Phantom Eupatorium develops into a large rounded perennial to about 5'x5' whose stems are topped in 12" wide clusters of nectar rich flowers for weeks attracting a bevy of bees, butterflies, and other pollinators. Provide a full to mostly sunny location and a wet to moist soil and can be used in bog gardens and near ponds or other water sources. Received 4 out of 5 stars in Joe Pye Weed trials at Chicago Botanic Gardens. Images courtesy of North Creek Nurseries, all rights reserved. Item# 11976

Hundreds of 1" wide deep reddish-pink daisies are produced in fall atop these dense mounding perennials that could easily be grown in the place of fall mums. Pink Crush New England Aster, a selection of Aster novae-angliae (a.k.a. Symphyotrichum novae-angliae), is a clump forming native perennial with a densely branching, naturally rounded habit requiring no pinching, and producing a superior fall show. It doesn't lodge or break over like the species can. The flowers attract bees and butterflies. Use these perennials where you would normally buy Chrysanthemums whether as part of the perennial border, landscape, or as container plants. Provide a full sun to mostly sunny site in an average to well-drained, fertile soil with average moisture for optimum vigor and flowering. Caterpillar host: Field Crescent, Pearl Crescent, Texan Crescent, Roadside Checkerspot, Hoffman's Checkerspot, and American Lady. Images courtesy of Walter's Gardens, Inc., all rights reserved. Item# 12841

Soft lavender pink, fragrant flowers open in the afternoon or evening. The Four O'Clock is tough and reliable, long-lived, heirloom and an easily shared perennial which produces a large tuber from which it returns to grace your garden year after year. Four O'Clocks attract pollinating moths, hummingbirds, larger butterflies, as well as larger native bees. Item# 3079.

Finally a pink Obedient plant that stays where you put it! Pink Manners Physostegia is a tight clump forming perennial that produces spikes of light rosy pink flowers in summer. An excellent native that attracts hummingbirds, butterflies, and other pollinators.This is a hardy, perennial that is native to the eastern half of North America and prefers moist to wet soils but performs well with average moisture. Image courtesy of North Creek Nurseries, all rights reserved. Item# 10456.

Deep rose pink, 3-4" wide, coneflowers are born in profusion on this well-branched and free flowering selection of Purple Coneflower. This 2010 AAS Award winner is sure to bring in the butterflies and will certainly make a statement for the garden! Item# 9844.

Tops in Mt. Cuba Center's first Echinacea trials in 2009 and was still one of the top ten in the 2020 trials! It also garnered the most pollinator visits in their 2018-19 trial years likely due to its strongly fragrant flowers. Pure white rays surround the dark orange tipped rounded cones of disk flowers on the 3-5" wide flowers atop sturdy 24-30" high stems beginning in late spring and continuing into early fall. PRAIRIE PILLARS™ Fragrant Angel Coneflower is a hybrid Coneflower selected for its exceptionally long flowering season that lasts from late spring or early summer often into fall, briliant color, extra large flowers, and improved branching habit over the original Mac-N-Cheese as well as its perennial reliability as a garden plant. Coneflowers are clump forming perennials whose often fragrant flowers are adored by butterflies, bees, and other pollinators that can be enjoyed as part of the sunny garden garden and landscape as well as container specimens. Leave seedheads for fall and winter songbirds to enjoy. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in an average moist, well-drained, fertile soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Photos courtesy of TERRA NOVA® Nurseries, Inc. www.terranovanurseries.com, all rights reserved. Item# 12787

In warm orange and yellow shades, the large, fragrant, upward facing flowers are centered by a large dark, nectar rich cones tipped in dark orange and red tones and the ray petals tend to be lightest at their tips deepening into orange tones nearest their base. PRIMA™ Tiger Echinacea or Coneflower was selected for its compact mound of clean deep green foliage that is topped by by sturdy 12-18" high stems that flower for months beginning in late spring or early summer and continuing into fall. This is a hardy clump forming perennial that will do best in fertile, well-drained, average moist soils in a full to mostly sunny site. The compact habit of PRIMA™ Tiger Echinacea lends it to use as a container plant as well as in the garden and landscape. Leave seedheads for fall and winter songbirds to enjoy. Photos courtesy of TERRA NOVA® Nurseries, Inc. www.terranovanurseries.com, all rights reserved. Item# 13079

The show begins in early spring as the deep purple fans of foliage emerge from the ground eventually maturing to green and it crescendos in late spring to early summer with the plants producing deep purple, 24-30" high stems that are adorned with elegant purple, white, and yellow flowers. Purple Flame Blue Flag, a unique selection of the native Iris versicolor, was selected in 2020 as part of the American Horticulture Society's Mt. Cuba Collection™ after literally decades of garden trials. This is a slowly spreading, clump-forming, rhizomatous, herbaceous, winter deciduous perennial that is a reliable performer under average moisture conditions, although it may be at its best in moist to wet to submerged sites like rain gardens, bogs, and near the edge of ponds and other water features. Provide a full sun to partly shaded site in a fertile soil for optimum growth and vigor. Deer resistant, a good cut flower, and requires almost no maintenance. Images courtesy of Mt. Cuba Center, all rights reserved. Item# 13343

Radio Red Salvia is a hybrid selection with crisp apple green foliage and non-fading deep brilliant red 1" long two-lipped tubular flowers on a compact plant with exceptional flower power. The spikes of flowers are produced from spring to fall, unlike on the typical Autumn Sages (Salvia greggii) which shut down during summer, this Salvia keeps on trucking! The clean tidy habit lend it to use as a container plant where you can draw the hummingbirds and other pollinators in close or use it near the front of the garden or landscape for full season long color. This has quickly become one of our favorite small growing red Salvias! Give Radio Red Salvia a full to mostly sunny location in a well-drained soil for optimum health and flowering. Item# 10755

Masses of 1" wide yellow-eyed bluish purple daisies absolutely cover this plant for weeks in late summer and fall. Raydon's Favorite Aromatic Aster, a selection of Symphyotrichum oblongifolium and the big brother of the slightly more compact October Skies, is a medium-sized, herbaceous, densely mounding shrub-like perennial that matures to about 3' x 3' at the time of flowering. Excellent fall color for the garden as well as drought tolerance and pest and disease resistance make this an excellent addition to the perennial or wildflower border and landscape. The flowers attract a variety of pollinators but seems to be especially popular with bees. Caterpillar host: Field Crescent, Pearl Crescent, Texan Crescent, Roadside Checkerspot, Hoffman's Checkerspot, and American Lady. Prefers good to excellent drainage and a full to mostly sunny site for optimum vigor and flowering. Named the 2016 Plant of the Year by the Garden Club of America and selected for the 2003 Theodore Klein Award. Images courtesy of North Creek Nurseries, Inc., all rights reserved. Item# 13164

The Red Firecracker Fern produces loads of 1" showy red tubular flowers that are born in large loose clusters along the arching ferny stems throughout the warmer months of the year or nearly year round where winters are mild. Excellent for Hummingbirds! This is a durable and long-lived, clump forming perennial that requires little additional care once well-established. The Firecracker Fern has excellent heat and sun tolerance as well as moderate drought resistance once well-established. It is even listed as being suitable for xeriscaping. Firecracker Fern, Russelia equisetiformis, is listed as a Texas A&M Outstanding Coastal Plant as it has excellent resistance to soil and wind born salts, though it could use some protection from harsh, drying winds. It is also an RHS Award of Garden Merit selection. It can be used as a low informal hedge, allow it to spill over walls, enjoy it as a hanging basket, window box, or container specimen, as well as in mixed container gardens. Item# 417

It's hard to beat Turk's Cap for sheer flower power! From summer to fall the brilliant red flowers just keep coming. Red Hot, a.k.a. Red Spreader, is a lower growing and more spreading form of Turk's Cap with slightly larger red flowers that was selected by plantsman Greg Grant who also developed Pam Puryear's Pink, and Big Momma. Greg says that Red Hot has a more noticeable lower and spreading habit when grown in full sun. Excellent for Hummingbirds and Butterflies, especially the Sulphurs. Item# 9726.