Bee Plants

A Louisiana Super Plant selection! The large 3-4" wide, coral pink, funnel-shaped flowers are produced beginning in late spring with sporadic summer flowering and another nice show in fall with the flowers attracting bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Watchet Azalea, an evergreen Satsuki type, has a neat and compact, densely branching, naturally rounded habit that lends itself to use in low-maintenance gardens and landscapes, including formal settings. Its small size also lends Watchet to use in bonsai as well as for low-maintenance container plants. Provide your evergreen Azaleas with a well-drained, average moist, humus rich, acid soil and topdress with an organic mulch for the best results. Item# 12575

One of the most exciting new Hardy Hibiscus introductions for 2024! The medium to large, 7" wide, heavily ruffled, bright magenta flowers with a slightly darker eye are set against a foil of deep green, bronze tinged foliage. Watermelon Ruffles Hardy or Perennial Hibiscus is an indeterminate type meaning that they both begin flowering earlier and flower all up and down the stems instead of just on the upper half of the plant creating a knockout display in the garden and landscape. Provide a full to mostly sunny location in moist to average moist to wet, moderately fertile soils. Caterpillar host: Gray hairstreak. Images courtesy of Walter's Gardens, Inc., all rights reserved. Item# 13298

1" golden yellow daisies sit atop the dark rich green foliage of this durable groundcover. Drought tolerant once established, Wedelia revels in the heat and sun creating a dense 8-12" high mass of foliage, stems and flowers. Evergreen in mild winter climates but may freeze to the ground in the northern portions of its range. Item# 718.

The pure white 1" long tubular flowers emerge from mealy-white calyxes along dense 18-24" high spikes from spring to fall attracting bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. White Flame Salvia is a vigorous and mannerly intermediate height hybrid of Salvia longispicata x S. farinacea that revels in the heat and sun of summer when many other plants are seeking shade. Provide a full to mostly sunny site with average or better drainage in containers as well as in the garden and landscape. Although, White Flame Salvia is considered hardy to zone 7, it will likely do best if planted out in spring once the danger of freeze and frost have passed. Image courtesy of Ball Horticulture, all rights reserved. Item# 12176

In late summer and fall, Frostweed produces large flattened clusters of flowers that are used by a variety of pollinators including bees, migrating Monarchs and other butterflies. This is a relatively tall growing rhizomatous native perennial that will develop into a mass of upright stems and flowers. Frostweed, Verbesinca virginica, is typically found growing in moist to periodically dry soils in partly shaded to lightly shaded sites from the Edward's Plateau of west central Texas to Florida and as far north as Missouri and Kentucky. Compared to the very similar species Texas Crownbeard, Verbesina microptera, the Virginia Frostweed has fewer ray flowers (or petals) per flower and is considered to be more reliably cold hardy. Item# 11767

This white fruited selection of the American Beautyberry adorns itself in dense clusters of 1/8" wide, creamy white, berries that encircle the stems. The fruit begins to ripen and color up in summer but they are most noticeable on the bare winter stems. Apparently the berries sweeten as winter sets in and songbirds find them irresistible. This is a fast growing, native, deciduous shrub that is tolerant of sun to semi-shade but generally flowers and fruits best in full or mostly sunny conditions. Because it flowers on new growth, if the American Beautyberry gets too large it will benefit from periodic hard pruning and still produce fruit the same year if pruning is done before new growth begins in spring. Item# 12224

An uncommon color form of the Rose of Montana producing large often pyramidal sprays of lacy white flowers from spring to fall on mature plants and are held against a foil of medium green heart-shaped foliage. The flowers are in constant use by honeybees and occasionally by butterflies. The Rosa Montana or Coral Vine, Antigonon leptopus 'Album', is a tendriled, tuberous tropical vine that is evergreen in frost free regions but acts like a die-back perennial in areas that experience freezing temperatures returning from the tubers in spring. As a perennial vine, it typically remains in the 8-15' range but can exceed 40' high in tropical regions. Provide a full sun to mostly sunny site in a well-drained, average moist, fertile soil for optimum growth and flowering. Easy to grow with moderate drought resistant once well-established, though this may reduce growth and flowering. In areas where hard freezes occur, plant out early in the growing season and no later than by midsummer to help insure winter survival. Item# 826

Pure-white 1/2" blooms are born in grape-like drooping clusters from spring/summer to frost on this large tropical shrub sometimes grown as a tender perennial or annual. In freeze-free climates the Duranta can be used as a hedge or screen or train them into beautiful small trees. In the mildest portions of zone 8B-9 it will often act as a die-back perennial. The blooms are followed by 1/2" golden berries giving it the name of 'Golden Dewdrop'. Item# 737.

Beautiful and unique spidery white flowers absolutely cover this semi-dwarf evergreen shrub in mid-spring. The rare Koromo White Azalea's naturally compact growth habit, durability, and rare flower form make this a definite conversation piece. The lavender form of this Azalea, Koromo Shikibu or Purple Spider, lines the eastern border of the Ruby M. Mize Azalea Gardens at Stephen F Austin's Mast Arboretum. Azaleas do best in average moist, acidic soils that are rich in organic matter but have good to excellent drainage and should be top dressed with an organic mulch such as pine straw and pine bark. We recommend using a slow-release, non-burning fertilizer that is labeled for acidic loving plants. Item# 10813

Large dense spikes of pure white foxglove-like flowers are born over a long period through spring and often well into summer on this beautiful clump forming native perennial. This wildflower's popularity for bouquets has made it nearly endangered in some areas. White Wand Penstemon, Penstemon tubaeflorus var. tubaeflorus, is a rosette forming native perennial whose rich green foliage often exhibits deep maroon tinges, edges, or the entire rosette may be maroon during portions of the year. Great for butterflies, larger bees, and the small black seeds may be utilized by smaller songbirds. Item# 9542

In late summer and fall loads of dainty 1/2-1" wide white daisies, with yellow centers or disk flowers that age to red-purple, literally cover the plants for weeks and offer nectar and pollen to a variety of smaller pollinators. The White Wood Aster, Aster divaricatum now Eurybia divaricata, is a medium-sized bushy, shade and drought tolerant, vigorously spreading rhizomatous, native perennial common throughout the Eastern US. This is one of the earliest Asters to begin flowering in late summer and can even be utilized as a mum replacement in containers if desired. The White Wood Aster may be best suited to semi-shaded to shaded, naturalistic areas where it will readily colonize eventually creating a groundcover-like mass of offsets. Provide a partly shaded site in average to well-drained soils with average to dryish (once well-established) moisture conditions. Images courtesy of North Creek Nurseries, all rights reserved. Item# 12991

In fall loads of dainty 1/2" wide white daisies with a pinkish-purplish 'eye' literally cover the plant for weeks and offer nectar and pollen to smaller pollinators. The White Woodland Aster or Calico Aster, Symphyotrichum lateriflorum, is a small bushy clump forming native perennial common throughout the Eastern and Central US and spilling over into Canada. It is a common component of our local Pineywoods region that adds a bolt of color beneath that of the changing foliage as well as providing a pollinator food source at a time when many plants have gone to seed for the year but native bees are still stockpiling. The White Woodland Aster is fairly tolerant of full sun to partly shaded sites and is a good choice for meadows, prairies, and roadside plantings. It may reseed on exposed soils, although it does not appear to be aggressive. Caterpillar host: Field Crescent, Pearl Crescent, Texan Crescent, Roadside Checkerspot, Hoffman's Checkerspot, and American Lady. Item# 12039

The tall stems of this native perennial cover up in 1" light purple daisies in late summer and fall. Willowleaf Aster, Symphyotrichum praealtum, produces a multitude of upright to arching stems once well-established and makes a grand statement in the fall garden, prairie, meadow, or roadsides. The flowers attract a variety of pollinators but are an especially important late summer and fall nectar source for native bees. Caterpillar host: Field Crescent, Pearl Crescent, Texan Crescent, Roadside Checkerspot, Hoffman's Checkerspot, and American Lady. Willowleaf Aster or Willow Aster is long rhizomatous, versus clumpforming, and will slowly colonize an area once established creating a dense stand at maturity. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in moist to average moist soils. Cutback to ground level after flowering to prevent unwanted seedlings if desired. Item# 10693.

Clusters of extra large (for a Beautyberry) showy purplish-pink flowers are produced for an extended period beginning in late spring or early summer and continuing into fall all the while ripening clusters of showy rich purple berries. The Willowleaf Beautyberry, Callicarpa salicifolia, is something of a rarity in the horticultural trade but is gaining in popularity for being one of the showiest. This large growing deciduous shrub has a naturally upright to rounded, well-branched habit lending it to use as a specimen plant and as an informal hedge or screen. The fruit attracts songbirds, small mammals, as well as likely deer and other wildlife while the nectar rich flowers attract bees, butterflies, and other pollinators. Provide the Willowleaf Beautyberry with a full to mostly sunny site in an average moist, well-drained, fertile soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Item# 12455

Deep wine red falls changing to purple at their outer edge and with a contrasting gold signal and with the standards being only slightly lighter with more purple tones and are topped by light wine red style arms. Wine Country Louisiana Iris is mid to late season flowering, or April-May, and growing to 30-36" high. Note: IMHO this cultivar looks different than the one pictured in the images on the American Iris Society's Iris Wiki as that flower appears more purple than wine and has noticeably ruffled edges. Louisiana Irises are easy and adaptable, rhizomatous perennials with fans of deep green sword-like foliage and seem as at home in standing water as they do in average moist garden soils. Remember that these plants do most of their growing in fall and winter and so this is when they should be fed and fall is also a great time to divide plants if desired. Provide a full to mostly sunny site for optimum vigor and flowering. Item# 13341

The cream and green foliage adorn the young red stems of this dazzlingly colorful shrub from spring to fall. Occasionally clusters of light pink spring flowers appear and may be followed by tight clusters of showy purple berries that ripen in summer and often last well past fall leaf drop. Wine Spritzer™ Variegated Japanese Beautyberry develops into a 4-6' high, full and bushy, rounded deciduous shrub that does well even in full sun despite being variegated according to J.C. Raulston Arboretum. Item# 10704.

Deep wine-red cupped flowers with contrasting creamy white stamens cover this durable native groundcover in spring with flowering often continuing well into mid-summer and flowering again in fall. Winecups make excellent choice where it can be allowed to naturalize or where it can be enjoyed spilling from large containers or over a wall. This tough native tap-rooted perennial reliably returns year after year and has been selected as a Plant Select® Award winner. Provide a full sun to partly shade site and Winecups are adaptable to soil types but prefer average moisture. Item# 9232

Pink tinged buds open to 2 ¹/₂-3" wide, ruffled, fragrant, anemone-form to semi-double flowers with a boss of golden yellow stamens that are produced early in the season in Nov-December. Winter's Snowman Sasanqua Camellia is a hybrid that was selected for its reliable zone 6 cold hardiness, clean white fragrant flowers, as well as for its vigor. This is a naturally fairly large growing evergreen shrub with medium textured, deep green Sasanqua-like foliage that emerges burgundy in spring similar to the Red-Tip Photinia and extending its seasons of interest. Like a Sasanqua, Winter's Snowman can be maintained as a 4-6'H hedge, formal to informal screen, or allow it to grow into a naturally large evergreen shrub to small tree with a naturally upright to spreading habit. Provide Camellias with a fertile soil rich in organic matter, with average moisture, and a deep organic mulch. Images courtesy of CamToo Camellia Nursery, all rights reserved. Item#13010

Zone 6 US National Arboretum introduction! Medium-sized, single, pink often described with a lavender tinge, flowers with a boss of sunny yellow stamens are produced in fall or early in the season, October to November, and are held against a foil of glossy, deep green, medium-textured foliage. Winter's Star Sasanqua Camellia, an Ackerman cross using C. oleifera for cold hardiness and is listed with the C. x hiemalis hybrids, is a vigorous growing, medium-sized, evergreen shrub with a fairly upright and rounded, densely branching habit. It has taken temperatures as low as -12^oF with no apparent damage and no protection except for that of pine trees overhead per Dr. Ackerman's description in the U.S. National Arboretum's pamphlet for these introductions. The Sasanqua Camellias are much more tolerant of growing conditions than standard Japonica Camellias and can tolerate less than perfect soils and full sun to light shade conditions. Images courtesy of Cam Too Camellia Nursery, all rights reserved. Item# 13247

Light blue narrow rays surround the eye of contrasting yellow disc flowers sit atop the neat mounds of foliage beginning in late summer and continuing into fall. The nectar rich flowers attract a variety of smaller pollinators. Wood's Light Blue New York Aster, a selection of Symphyotrichum novi-belgii or Aster novi-belgii, is a 8-12" x 8-12" compact selection of the species that is a good choice as a replacement for fall mums and can be enjoyed as both a container plant as well as near the front of the border in the garden and landscape. Provide a full to partly shaded site in an average moist, average to well-drained, fertile soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Caterpillar host: Field Crescent, Pearl Crescent, Texan Crescent, Roadside Checkerspot, Hoffman's Checkerspot, and American Lady. Images courtesy of North Creek Nurseries, all rights reserved. Item# 13151

Clusters of medium to large cupped white flowers that are centered by a deep burgundy eye are produced in summer and sit atop a sturdy stems cloaked in grayish to nearly white foliage. The Woolly Rose-Mallow or Swamp Mallow, a form of Hibiscus moscheutos var. lasiocarpos, is sure to be a standout hardy clump-forming perennial that will produce more and more flowering stems each year eventually developing into a rounded mass of nearly white foliage topped by clusters of flowers. The flowers normally remain open until about midday but may stay open nearly all day on overcast or cloudy days. The Woolly Rose-Mallow is adaptable to moist to wet to average moist, fertile soils and is an easy choice for pondside and bog plantings. The flowers attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Caterpillar host: Gray hairstreak. Provide a full to mostly sunny site for optimum vigor and flowering. Item# 12197