Native Plants

The spring and summer clumps of yellow-green foliage are accented with and tipped with red and in late summer tall, 4-1/2-5-1/2' high, sturdy spikes of decorative reddish seed heads are produced. As fall approaches the foliage becomes red and then deepens into fiery scarlet. Dancing Wind Big Bluestem, a selection of Andropogon gerardii, has a slightly shorter, sturdier upright habit than the species with excellent fall color. The species is native throughout much of the eastern 2/3's of the US and is a clumping to slowly spreading rhizomatous grass whose seeds are utilized by a number of seed eating birds. Provide a full to mostly sunny site with an average to well-drained, acidic soil for the deepest foliage colors and optimum vigor. Plants are in their best form when grown in a low fertility soil. Photos courtesy of Brent Horvath, Intrisic Perennial Gardens, Inc., all rights reserved. Item# 12852

An exceptionally free flowering form of our native Coral Honeysuckle producing a nearly continuous display of red tubular blooms with a yellow throat. Dan's Everblooming Coral Honeysuckle begins flowering in late winter and early spring and lasts through fall on established plants. This variety may produce a few flowers throughout winter even in zone 8B. Item# 9729.

Deep wine-red foliage provides a wonderful foil for the tall sturdy spikes of light pink tubular flowers in late spring and early summer attracting bees, hummingbirds, and the occassional butterfly. Dark Towers Penstemon, an offspring of Penstemon digitalis, was developed by Dale Lindgren at the University of Nebraska from his original selection of Husker Red. Dark Towers has darker foliage that keeps its color better through summer and it has pink flowers versus white on Husker Red. Provide this easy to grow clump forming perennial, a nativar (a cultivar from native species), with a moist to average moist, well-drained, fertile soil in a full to mostly sunny location for optimum vigor, flowering, and for the deepest foliage colors. Pair Dark Towers Penstemon with chartreuse foliaged plants for a wonderful contrast. Images courtesy of Ball Horticulture, Inc., all rights reserved. Item# 12469

Large, rounded clusters composed of nearly 1" wide, fragrant, pure white flowers sit atop sturdy stems in summer and are sure to attract butterflies, hummingbirds and other pollinators. David's Garden Phlox has exceptional disease resistance and was selected as the 2002 Perennial Plant of the Year. Garden Phlox is also known as Summer Border Phlox or Fall Phlox, it is a hardy clump forming, upright growing herbaceous perennial found throughout much of the eastern and central US. Item# 10830.

A profusion of golden orange-yellow dark eyed daisies are produced in mid to late summer and into fall atop tall sturdy stems and attract a myriad of smaller pollinators and garden beneficials. Deam's Black-Eyed Susan, Rudbeckia fulgida var. deamii, is different from Goldstrum by having a clump forming habit, slightly larger flowers, and overall taller plants with better resistance to powdery mildew. Its reliability has garnered this US native perennial the coveted RHS Award of Garden Merit. Provide Deam's Black-Eyed Susan with a full to mostly sunny site in average to well-drained soils. Songbirds enjoy the ripe seed heads and it may reseed under good conditions on exposed soils making it a good addition to cottage gardens, meadows, prairies, and other naturalistic and informal settings. Images courtesy of North Creek Nurseries, all rights reserved. Item# 12115

A unique bicolor with a vigorous habit! Large, dark purplish to charcoal colored, lupine-like spikes and buds open to contrasting soft lemony yellow, pea-shaped flowers that mature to raspberry pink and are held above a neat mound of blue-green foliage in spring to early summer attracting bees and other pollinators.  DECADENCE DELUXE® Pink Lemonade Baptisia, a hybrid cultivar of our native species (a.k.a. nativar), has exceptional vigor developing into a vase-shaped 4'x4' plant as well as foliage that lasts through summer. These are easy and low-maintenance, deer resistant, long-lived, taprooted perennials that produce more and more flowering spikes with each passing year with some plants producing over a 100 spikes on mature plants. Considered a must for the cutflower garden as the spikes have an excellent vase life. Provide Baptisias with a full to mostly sunny site in a soil with average or better drainage and moderate fertility. Images courtesy of Walter's Gardens, Inc., all rights reserved. Item# 12667

Large, dark purplish to charcoal colored, lupine-like spikes and buds open to purplish-pink pea-shaped flowers with a contrasting yellow keel that lighten as they age and are held above a neat mound of blue-green foliage in spring to early summer attracting bees and other pollinators. DECADENCE DELUXE® Pink Truffles Baptisia, a hybrid cultivar of our native species (a.k.a. nativar), has exceptional vigor developing into a vase-shaped 4'x4' plant as well as foliage that lasts through summer. These are easy and low-maintenance, deer resistant, long-lived, taprooted perennials that produce more and more flowering spikes with each passing year with some plants producing over a 100 spikes on mature plants. Considered a must for the cutflower garden as the spikes have an excellent vase life. Provide Baptisias with a full to mostly sunny site in a soil with average or better drainage and moderate fertility. Images courtesy of Walter's Gardens, Inc., all rights reserved. Item# 12668

Large spikes of deep indigo-blue, pea-like flowers are produced atop a neat mound of blue-green foliage in spring to early summer, depending on your zone, attracting bees and other garden beneficials. DECADENCE® Blueberry Sundae Baptisia, a hybrid cultivar of our native species (a.k.a. nativar), produces darker blue flowers than its parent, Baptisia australis or Blue Wild Indigo, and has improved vigor and foliage that lasts through summer. It was selected as one of the top ten in the 2012-15 Baptisia Trials at Mount Cuba Center and is reported to produce over 280 flowering stems on mature plants! These are easy and low-maintenance, deer resistant, long-lived, taprooted perennials that produce more and more flowering spikes with each passing year. Considered a must for the cutflower garden as the spikes have an excellent vase life. Provide Baptisias with a full to mostly sunny site in a soil with average or better drainage and moderate fertility. Images courtesy of Walter's Gardens, Inc., all rights reserved. Item# 12664

"An unusually beautiful and unique flower color as well as densely branched foliage set this new variety apart. Deep maroon buds open to bicolor maroon and yellow flowers held on strong scapes above the blue-green foliage in late spring to early summer. Secondary branching on the flower stems makes this variety especially floriferous. As the flowers age, they turn gold." - Walter's Gardens, Inc. DECADENCE® Cherries Jubilee Baptisia, a hybrid cultivar of our native species (a.k.a. nativar), has a slightly more compact habit than the others in this series as well as foliage that lasts through summer. It was selected as one of the top ten in the 2012-15 Baptisia Trials at Mount Cuba Center and is reported to produce over 270 flowering stems on mature plants! These are easy and low-maintenance, deer resistant, long-lived, taprooted perennials that produce more and more flowering spikes with each passing year. Considered a must for the cutflower garden as the spikes have an excellent vase life. Provide Baptisias with a full to mostly sunny site in a soil with average or better drainage and moderate fertility. Images courtesy of Walter's Gardens, Inc., all rights reserved. Item# 12665

The huge flower spikes can exceed 24" long and are adorned with deep charcoal purple, pea-like flowers that are produced in late spring to early summer, depending on your growing zone, and are held above the dense mounds of lush green foliage. The flowers attract a variety of bee species. DECADENCE® Dark Chocolate Baptisia or False Indigo, a hybrid cultivar of our native species (a.k.a. nativar), has excellent vigor with a slightly more compact habit than many of the other cultivars currently available. These are easy and low-maintenance, deer resistant, long-lived, taprooted perennials that produce more and more flowering spikes with each passing year with some plants producing over a 100 spikes on mature plants. Considered a must for the cutflower garden as the spikes have an excellent vase life. Provide Baptisias with a full to mostly sunny site in a soil with average or better drainage and moderate fertility. Images courtesy of Walter's Gardens, Inc., all rights reserved. Item# 12900

The #2 star performer in Mt. Cuba Center Baptisia Trials! Large, dark purplish to charcoal colored, lupine-like spikes and buds open to contrasting bright sunny yellow, pea-shaped flowers and are held above a neat mound of blue-green foliage in spring to early summer attracting bees and other pollinators.  DECADENCE® Lemon Meringue Baptisia, a hybrid cultivar of our native species (a.k.a. nativar), has excellent vigor as well as foliage that lasts through summer. It scored a perfect 5 of 5 stars in the Mt. Cuba Center's 2012-15 Baptisia Trials of 46 cultivars.These are easy and low-maintenance, deer resistant, long-lived, taprooted perennials that produce more and more flowering spikes with each passing year with some plants producing over a 100 spikes on mature plants. Considered a must for the cutflower garden as the spikes have an excellent vase life. Provide Baptisias with a full to mostly sunny site in a soil with average or better drainage and moderate fertility. Images courtesy of Walter's Gardens, Inc., all rights reserved. Item# 12666

The tall flower spikes are adorned with deep blue to blue-purple, pea-like flowers that are produced in summer and are held above the dense mounds of lush green foliage. The flowers attract a variety of bee species. DECADENCE® Periwinkle Popsicle Baptisia or False Indigo, a hybrid cultivar of our native species (a.k.a. nativar), has excellent vigor and a neat vase-shaped habit topping out at about 4 to 4-1/2 feet high and 3 to 3-1/2 feet wide. This large growing cultivar begins flowering after most cultivars have finished for the season. These are easy and low-maintenance, deer resistant, long-lived, taprooted perennials that produce more and more flowering spikes with each passing year with some plants producing over a 100 spikes on mature plants. Considered a must for the cutflower garden as the spikes have an excellent vase life. Provide Baptisias with a full to mostly sunny site in a soil with average or better drainage and moderate fertility. Images courtesy of Walter's Gardens, Inc., all rights reserved. Item# 13144

Large, dark purplish to charcoal colored, lupine-like spikes and buds open to soft yellow pea-shaped flowers that lighten to creamy vanilla as they age and are held above a neat mound of gray-green foliage in spring to early summer attracting bees and other pollinators. DECADENCE® Vanilla Cream Baptisia, a hybrid cultivar of our native species (a.k.a. nativar), has excellent vigor with a slightly more compact habit than the other members of this series. These are easy and low-maintenance, deer resistant, long-lived, taprooted perennials that produce more and more flowering spikes with each passing year with some plants producing over a 100 spikes on mature plants. Considered a must for the cutflower garden as the spikes have an excellent vase life. Provide Baptisias with a full to mostly sunny site in a soil with average or better drainage and moderate fertility. Images courtesy of Walter's Gardens, Inc., all rights reserved. Item# 12669

#2 in 3 year trials at Secrest Arboretum! Rich glowing fuchsia to cherry red rays surround the rounded cones of the same coloration on 2-3" wide flowers atop short sturdy stems to 12-18" high stems. Plant with cautions may cause traffic jams. Delicious Candy® Coneflower is a long-flowering hybrid selection with a compact habit and dark green disease resistant foliage developed from US native species, since Echinacea are only native to North America, developed by Netherlands breeder Marco van Noort who states that this is his best selection in 5 years! 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. Images courtesy of Walter's Gardens, Inc., all rights reserved and are credited to Marco van Noort. Item# 12783

Fine textured, narrow, bronze-tinged yellow-green new growth matures to deep olive green on this compact native evergreen shrub. Don's Dwarf Wax Myrtle, a selection of Myrica cerifera, a.k.a Morella cerifera, makes a tough and easy, low-maintenance low to medium-sized evergreen hedge that could easily be used to replace Boxwood, Indian Hawthorn, and even Dwarf Yaupon Holly in the garden and landscape. Its toughness lends it to use in parking lot islands. Don's Dwarf Wax Myrtle is resistant to leaf spot that plagues some Wax Myrtles, is drought resistant once fully established, and is not likely to be bothered by deer thanks to its Bayberry-like fragrance. Provide a full sun to part shade site in a fertile, average to well-drained soil for optimum growth and vigor. The only drawback is that Wax Myrtle is subsceptible to fire and so should be utilized away from houses, businesses, and other structures, although, the plants themselves generally recover from the root stock. Item# 12746

Masses of deep brick red trumpet shaped flowers nearly cover up this vine in spring or early summer just in time for arriving hummingbirds. It's almost like the two coordinate it or something! The red Dragon Lady Crossvine is a vigorous evergreen to semi-evergreen clinging vine(it does so via pads on the end of its tendrils and so is not destructive to brickwork and masonry) that can easily clamber up or along masonry, tree bark, fences, or other structural supports on its own. Crossvines are a low maintenance choice for fences, posts, arbors, and larger trellises. The deep red trumpet shaped flowers attract hummingbirds, bees, and other pollinators. The foliage takes on purple and burgundy coloration throughout the cooler months when grown in full to mostly sunny conditions. Dragon Lady Crossvine is reported to be a slightly more cold hardy selection and was chosen as the Pennsylvania Horticulture Society's Gold Medal Award winner in 2003. Item# 391

The dwarf form of it's much larger cousin and native to the sandy and sandy loam soils of much of the southeast US. The Dwarf Pawpaw produces 3-5" green-yellow elongated fruit that eventually turn brown to nearly black when ripe. It is reported to have a banana custard-like flavor, some say that fully ripe fruit of the Dwarf Pawpaw is equal to the Pawpaw, while others firmly disagree. Produces small maroon to greenish flowers flowers in spring. A small to medium-sized, spreading to upright, moderately slow growing, native deciduous shrub. A caterpillar host plant of the Zebra Swallowtail Butterfly. Seedling grown. Plant two for pollination. Item# 10232.

Another excellent native shrub for the landscape! The dense neat mound of deep green glossy foliage and red tinged stems is topped by clusters of white flowers in spring which make way to red berries ripening through purple and finally black. The flowers attract a variety of pollinators and the fruit attract songbirds and smaller fructivores. Walter's Dwarf Viburnum, Viburnum obovatum 'Densa', is a compact, densly branching selection of this southeastern native. This shrub's dense habit lends it to use anywhere a small to medium-sized shrub is desired in the landscape. It is generally evergreen into zone 8A and tends to be deciduous to semi-evergreen in zones 6 and 7. Use this tough native shrub in place of Dwarf Yaupon, Indian Hawthorne, or anywhere a medium-sized, disease resistant, low maintenance shrub or hedge is desired. Provide a full sun to part shade site in an average to well-drained soil for optimum vigor. Images shown are an example of what to expect with this cultivar but are of the common Walter's Viburnum, Viburnum obovatum. Item# 12731

The large rounded to conical clusters of 1" wide, sweetly fragrant, white, salverform flowers are blushed purple toward their centers and with a purple eye are held atop sturdy 36" high stems beginning mid to late spring and continuing into summer. Earlibeauty® Daughter of Pearl Phlox is a vigorous upright to mounding, slowly spreading, evergreen perennial Phlox that was developed for its excellent disease resistance and vigor, as well as for its earlier flowering season than typical Tall or Summer Phlox, Phlox paniculata, selections. Perfectly suited for formal to informal garden and landscape settings and it can even be worked into naturalistic settings. Phlox are native only to North America and their nectar rich, often fragrant, salverform flowers are butterfly magnets. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in an average moist, fertile soil, with average or better drainage. Deadheading is not required but it can help to improve your chances of extending the flowering season. Images courtesy of The Primrose Path, all rights reserved. Item# 12839

Large clusters of sweetly fragrant, rich pink, 1-1/4" wide salverform flowers are produced atop sturdy 12-16" high stems beginning in midspring and continuing into summer with some additional repeat flowering later in the year on well-grown plants. Earlibeauty® Rose Bouquet Phlox is a vigorous slowly spreading, evergreen perennial Phlox that was selected for its early and long flowering season, vigorous groundcovering habit, as well as for its deep green foliage that has excellent disease resistance even under shade and high humidity. The sweetly fragrant and nectar rich flowers of Phlox, whose species are nearly all native to North America, are excellent for attracting butterflies which is their main pollinator. Provide Earlibeauty® Rose Bouquet Phlox with an average moist, fertile, average to well-drained soil in a full sun to part sun site for optimum vigor and flowering. Deadheading is not required but may help to further extend the flowering season. Images courtesy of The Primrose Path, all rights reserved. Item# 12840

A must have perennial! Early Bird Gold Rudbeckia produces wave after wave of bright golden yellow, 3-4" daisies from late spring to fall on a nicely branching plant. This exciting new day-length neutral and thusly free flowering Black-Eyed Susan was discovered at Dupont Nursery near Plaquemine, Louisiana and is sure to bring in the butterflies and pollinators as well as providing color all summer. Drought tolerant, deer resistant, and reliable. Item# 10626.

Clusters of blue to light blue, star-shaped flowers are borne in spring on sturdy stems atop the wide foliage. The Eastern Bluestar makes a wonderful garden addition with a mannerly clump forming habit and excellent pest and disease resistance. Yellow fall foliage color adds to its interest. Tolerant of wet to average moist soils. Eastern Bluestar is an easy to grow and reliable native perennial. The flowers attract butterflies and hummingbird moths. Item# 10268