Perennials - All

According to Dr. Allen's Edible Plants of the Gulf South, Wild Chervil or Honewort is an easy to grow, native, tuberous rooted perennial whose leaves, stems, and flowers are useful fresh in salads or can be cooked as a green, the tuberous roots can be used as a starch, and the seeds can be used as a spice. Grow it as a loose groundcover in shade to partial shade in a moist, but not soggy soil,  preferably rich in organic matter. A host for the Eastern Black Swallowtail butterfly. Item# 10219.

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.

Only one of two Amsonia species to receive a 5-star rating in the Chicago Botanic Gardens trials! Showy clusters of light blue star-shaped 1" wide flowers are produced in spring atop sturdy stems cloaked in dark green willow-like foliage. The Willowleaf Eastern Bluestar has the same basic habit and growth requirements of the more common Eastern Bluestar, Amsonia tabernaemontana var. tabernaemontana, but with larger showier flower clusters that seem to cover the plant, a neat dense vase-shaped habit, and clean disease resistant foliage. An easy to grow, clump-forming native perennial that is tolerant of wet to average moist soils preferring a full to mostly sunny site in the garden and landscape. The flowers of Bluestars attract butterflies and hummingbird moths. Images courtesy of North Creek Nurseries, all rights reserved. Item# 11945

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

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

From flattened iris-like bluish-green fans emerge spikes of deep coral 1" wide flowers that have a contrasting splotch of dark orange-red at the base of the three lower petals that acts as a 'bee guide' and the flowers are produced over an extended period in late winter, early spring, to spring depending on your zone. Woodland Painted Petals or Flowering Grass, Freesia laxa, is an easily grown cormous heirloom perennial and RHS Award of Garden Merit winner which readily multiplies via seed to make a loose groundcover. Provide an average to well-drained soil in a full to partly sunny site for optimum vigor and flowering. Freesia laxa is suitable for container culture as well as in the garden and landscape. Naturally winter dormant. Typically 2-3 or more bulbs per pot. Item# 12370

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

Large, dark pink, long lasting, fragrant trumpets with an almost glossy appearance are produced in summer on this Angel's Trumpet. Xena is a vigorous grower and the flowers can darken to near red. Item # 9250

The Yellow Firecracker Fern produces loads of 1" creamy yellow tubular flowers that are born in large loose clusters throughout the warmer months of the year or nearly year round where winters are mild. Excellent for Hummingbirds! Plant it with the red for a colorful show. 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 is listed as a Texas A&M Outstanding Coastal Plant. Item # 752.

Round clusters of 1" light yellow to white tubular flowers are produced from about mid to late spring atop sturdy square stems adorned with lightly fragrant foliage. Newly described to science in 2011 by Jason Singhurst and Walter Holmes, the Yellow Flowered Beebalm has as yet only been found in northeastern Texas and Miller county in Arkansas. This is a slowly spreading native perennial well suited to naturalistic settings such as meadows, prairies, or roadside planting as well as in mixed perennial borders and pollinator habitats. The flowers attract hummingbirds and larger butterflies. We have to say thank you to SFA Gardens for making this species more widely available. Item# 11988

1" bright yellow blooms open in the afternoon or evening, or earlier on cloudy days. A tough and reliable, long-lived, heirloom, pass-a-long perennial which produces a large tuber from which it returns to grace your garden year after year. Four O'Clocks attract pollinating moths, hummingbirds, and larger butterflies.  Item# 1123.

A rare or uncommon color form of the common Red Shrimp Plant, the Yellow Queen Shrimp Plant produces a continuous display of upright to arching spikes composed of large showy light yellow to chartreuse colored bracts from which the individual white tubular flowers emerge in spring and summer to year round under warm tropical conditions. It displays the same habit and exceptional flower power of its maroon-red bracted cousin making a beautiful display as a container plant specimen and in mixed container gardens as well as in the garden and landscape. The common Shrimp Plant, Justicia brandegeeana, is a heat loving, naturally evergreen, bushy, tropical plant with dark olive green foliage and grows to about 24" high by about 18" wide. It is both full sun and bright shade tolerant but tends to have the densest branching habit where it receives at least 4 hours or more of direct sunlight. Provide an average to well-drained, moderately fertile, average moist soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Attracts hummingbirds and the occasional larger butterfly and is an RHS Award of Garden Merit winner. Caterpillar host: Cuban Crescent, Texan Crescent, White Peacock, and Malachite. Item# 1170

Yellow iris-like 2" flowers with brown markings are borne on tall stems practically all year where protected from frost. As a garden plant in areas where winters are cold, like zone 9, the foliage can freeze back at temperatures below about 28^oF. The upright sword-like medium green foliage grows to 24-30" high. As the 'walking' portion of the name implies, the Yellow Walking Iris produces young plantlets on the spent flowering stems and once they are large and heavy enough the supporting stem will be pulled to the ground where the young plantlets can root into the soil and grow. Makes an easy and low maintenance container plant for the porch or patio. Item# 758

Tall spikes of bright yellow pea-like blossoms are held above the gray-green foliage. Baptisia's are durable pest and disease resistant native taprooted perennials and could be considered the Lupine for the south. An excellent addition to the perennial border or cut-flower garden that is drought tolerant, deer resistant, durable, and easy. Item# 9813.

The ovate light green tropical foliage is alternately banded with contrasting dark and light green and has a light green midvein and edging. The Zebra Plant, Goeppertia zebrina previously Calathea zebrinus, adds a delightful tropical look whether it is used as a specimen container plant or as a perennial in shaded gardens and landscapes. This is an easy to grow tropical, naturally evergreen, rhizomatous perennial from southeastern Brazil that prefers an average moist soil rich in organic matter with good drainage as it never wants to remain soggy wet. Prefers high humidity levels which may be supplemented when grown indoors by setting it in a saucer fill with rocks and water. The Zebra Plant has earned the Royal Horticulture Society Award of Garden Merit for its easy going yet durable nature. Item# 12291