Boltonia `Snowbank`

Boltonia ‘Snowbank’
(Boltonia asteroides):
'Snowbank' is an introduction of the
New England Wild Flower Society.
3-4’ x 2-4’ bold aster-like strongstemmed perennial. Noted for
compact growth, doesn’t need
staking.
Native to wet prairies, marshes,
meadows, from New Jersey south.
Masses of ¾” yellow-centered
pure-white flowers cover the plant on
long billowing branched panicles, in
August and September.
5” narrow gray green leaves on
branched stems.
Full sun to part shade. Ordinary, wet
to moderately dry well-drained soil.
Rugged and adaptable. Can withstand
drought.
Back of the border (3+ is best),
naturalized in meadows, cottage
gardens, wild gardens.
Perfect companion for other fall
flowers
Attracts butterflies.
Photos 5, 7
Missouri Botanic PlantFinder
mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder
All other photos:
North Central Conservation District
Calico Penstemon
(Penstemon calycosus)
1-3’, upright, mostly unbranched.
CT native, found in moist to dry woods, rocky slopes, moist
meadows within woodlands
Panicles of 1” pale pink-lavender snapdragon-like flowers, with
whitish inner surface, spring through early summer, atop 3-4’
central stalks.
5” lance-shape fine-toothed shiny leaves, smaller as ascending
stems.
Flowering stems replaced by low
leaves at base that persist to spring.
Full to part sun. Moist to somewhat
dry loamy soil. The plant is taprooted.
Use in borders, wildflower gardens,
for naturalizing.
Attracts long-tongued bees, including
Honeybees, Bumblebees, Mason
Bees.
Sphinx Moths and Hummingbirds
also visit.
Photos 1, 2, 4
Mount Cuba Center
mtcubacenter.org/plant-finder/details/penstemon-calycosus/
Photos
Steve Baskauf
http://bioimages.vanderbilt.edu
Canadian Burnet
(Sanguisorba canadensis)
2-5’ x 2’ vigorous graceful clump.
CT native, found in low and wet areas along rivers, banks, peaty
bogs, swamps, wet meadows, thickets, sedge meadows, fens.
4-7”-long graceful swaying
dense bottlebrush candles
of small white JuneOctober flowers, on
towering branched stems,
above foliage. Opens
upwards from base.
Wide-spreading 1.5’
compound leaves with 715 2” bright toothed
oblong leaflets, mostly on
lower half of plant.
Leaves turn reddishyellow in fall, in good
contrast with white
flowers.
Sun to part sun. Wet to moist
soil. Adaptable.
Use in borders, wildflower
gardens.
Pollen and nectar attract
various kinds of bees.
Streamside buffers.
Photo 1 State of Maine
Dept. of Conservation
Maine Natural Areas Program
maine.gov/doc/nrimc/mnap/
features/sancan.htm
Photos 2, 5 Jesse Saylor
Michigan State University
saylorplants.com
Photo 4 Ryan P. O'Connor
Michigan State University
MI Natural Features Inventory
Mnfi.anr.mus.edu/explorer/
images.cfm?id=14810
Photos 3, 6, 7
Jennifer S. Durkin, Botanist
Midewin National Tallgrass
Prairie, US Forest Service
fs.fed.us/wildflowers/plantof-the-week/sanguisorba_
canadensis.shtml
Coreopsis ‘Route 66’
(Coreopsis verticillata)
24-28” upright mounds with dense fine branches.
Native PA south, found in dry woods and clearings along
coastal plains.
Profuse 1-2” daisy-like bright yellow flowers with deep red
center rings spreading irregularly toward tips of rays, July-fall.
The red increases as the weather cools, becoming dominant in
autumn. One of the last bloomers in the fall, lasting into
November.
Cut back strongly after first big flush of flowers for best shape
and re-bloom in autumn.
Very fine threadlike green leaves.
Sun to part sun. Average, moist to dry, well-drained soil.
Long-lived and drought tolerant once established.
Deer resistant. Easily grown.
Use in borders, in edging, in cottage gardens. Also effective in
naturalized areas, wild gardens.
Attracts hummingbirds and butterflies
Photo 1
Cody Parmer
University of Georgia, Athens, GA
discoverlife.org/mp/20p?see=I_EHCP3853&res=640
Photos 2, 5
North Central Conservation District
Photo 3
Mount Cuba Center
mtcubacenter.org/plant-trials/detail/coreopsis-route-66/
Photo 4
Missouri Botanic PlantFinder
www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder
Creeping Phlox ‘Pink Ridge’
(Phlox stolonifera)
6-10” low mats of semi-evergreen foliage,
creep 6’ , or indefinitely. Can form large
colonies in the wild. Moderately fast spreader.
Native to moist mountain woods and
stream banks; PA south
Loose clusters of sweet-scented bright pink
flowers with five rounded overlapping petals,
float on thin 8” stems, early/mid-spring.
rise above mats on thin 8” upright stems.
Paddle shaped 1-2” leaves.
Part sun to shady. Moist to medium, well-drained
humusy soils.
During the springtime cleanup, be careful not to
rake up this plant, as its hold in the ground is shallow.
When the soil is workable, sections of the plant can
be transplanted to bare patches, provided the
transplants are watered in dry periods.
Undemanding.
Attractive woodland ground cover,
useful for shade gardens, fronts of borders,
rock gardens, naturalized areas, and
combined with spring bulbs.
Attracts butterflies.
Photos:
North Central Conservation District
Doll’s Eyes ‘Misty Blue’
Actaea pachypoda
(also known as White Baneberry)
2-3' handsome clumps.
CT native, found in moist rich woods,
wooded slopes and seeps, high quality
woods where original ground flora intact.
2-6” foamy spires of white flowers, MayJune, with a musky sweet perfume.
Large, finely cut, soft bluish-green leaves,
with 4” toothed oval leaflets, attractive
through the growing season.
Elongated loose clusters of exceptionally
showy pea-sized shiny bright chalky-white
round fruit with distinctive purplish black
eye spot (doll’s eyes) on contrasting thick
bright-red stems, above foliage, late
summer until frost.
Part shade to shade, prefers well-drained
moist rich humusy loamy soil. Long-lived,
carefree, and improves over the years.
Likes a light mulch of rich leaf mold in
winter. In damp summers foliage can
blacken and die prematurely, but no
permanent harm to plants. If spread
desired, pick berries and immediately
plant into the ground as soon as ripened.
Use in woodland gardens, massed, shady
borders, for naturalizing.
Attracts bees.
Birds eat the berries to a limited extent,
though mammals seem to ignore the fruit.
The plant, especially the berries, are toxic
if eaten in large quantities.
Photo 1 Federal Government; commons.wiki
Media.org/wiki/File:Actaea_pachypoda0.jpg
Photo 2 Mount Cuba Center; mtcubacenter.
org/plant-finder/ details/actaea-pachypoda/
Photo 3 Margery Melgaard; Univ. of
Wisconsin-Stevens Point;wisplants.uwsp.edu
Photo 4 Friends of the Eloise Butler
Wildflower Garden; friendsofelouisebutler.org
Photo 5 Dan Busemeyer, IL Natural History
Survey; inhs.illinois.edu/animals_plants
Photo 6 David G. Smith, Delaware
Wildflowers; delawarewildflowers.org
Photo 7 Janet Novak, CT Botanical Society
www.ct-botanical-society.org
Photo 8 Robert E. Wright
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Actaeapachypoda.jpg
Golden Alexander
(Zizia aurea)
1-3’, upright, branched perennial, often seeding into small colonies.
CT native, found in sunny moist meadows, woods edge and openings,
thickets, roadsides.
Attractive tiny bright-yellow flowers in 2-3” flat-topped umbels like
Queen Anne’s Lace, May-June.
Green fruit capsules turn purple in summer.
Compound leaves divided in three, with triangular serrate shiny leaflets.
Sun to light shade; moist to wet soils, tolerates summer drought.
Rugged, easy plants.
Use in wildflower gardens, meadows, open woodlands, rain gardens, for
cut flowers, and flowers in salads.
Provides accessible nectar to many
beneficial insects with short mouthparts.
Attracts bees.
Attracts butterflies, larval host
for black swallowtails.
Photo 1
Delaware Wildflowers
Delawarewildflowers.org/plant.
php?id=2174
Photos 2, 5
Steve C. Garske
Univ. of Wisconsin- Stevens Point
wisplants.uwsp.edu/scripts/
detail.asp?SpCode=ZIZAUR
Photo 3
The Battery Plant Database
thebattery.org/plants/plantview.
Php?id=188
Photo 4
Merel R. Black
Univ. of Wisconsin- Stevens Point
wisplants.uwsp.edu/scripts/
detail.asp?SpCode=ZIZAUR
Photo 6
Missouri Botanical Garden
PlantFinder
mobot.org/gardeninghelp/
plantfind
Goldenrod ‘Fireworks’
(Solidago rugosa)
2½-3’ upright perennial, with long arching stems.
CT native, found in fields, meadows, prairies.
Multitudes of brilliant yellow flowers on long thin plume-like panicles,
resemble fireworks, August-October.
Thin lance-shaped dark leaves.
Sun to part sun; dry to moist
soils, tolerates floods, drought.
Much less invasive than
species: can spread a little by
rhizome, but is easy to pull;
may self-seed, which you can
deadhead to prevent, or leave
seed heads for the birds.
Goldenrods do not cause
hayfever - that’s ragweed.
Use in moist meadows,
borders, naturalized areas,
rain gardens, for cut flowers.
Prized in Europe for the back
of flower borders. Combines
well with daisies and asters, in
late summer/early fall.
Attracts bees, which rely on
the pollen and nectar to build
up their winter stores.
Attracts 115+ butterflies and
moths, like monarchs,
skippers.
If faded flowers left to seed,
will be enjoyed by a large
variety of birds, including
finches, juncos, and indigo
bunting. Birds also feed on
insects enjoying flowers.
Stream buffers.
Photos 1, 3, 5
MO Botanicl. Garden PlantFinder
mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plant
finder
Photo 2
Mount Cuba Center
mtcubacenter.org/plant-finder/
details/solidago-rugosafireworks
Photos 4, 6, 7, 8
No. Central Conservation District
Hair-awn Muhly Grass
(Muhlenbergia capillaris)
2-3’ tuft of leaf blades, in flower the plant reaches 5’.
Primarily a Southeast U.S. species, but history of some native
presence in CT and MA, primarily in dry, rocky, openings on the
trap rock. Elsewhere found in upland savannahs, dry rocky open
woods, rocky slopes and ledges.
Glossy, wiry, dark leaves form an attractive basal clump, turning
copper in the fall.
Stiff stalks hold magnificent large gossamer haze of 3’ feathery
tassels with tiny flowers, first green, then white, then a superb rosered as seeds mature in fall, through October, a ruby glow in the sun;
attractive smoky gray in winter.
Sun, tolerating some shade; average to moist well-drained soil,
prefers fairly fertile soil but tolerates poor soil. Tolerates drought.
Adaptable. Takes a few seasons to reach full size. Plant once air and
soil have warmed, and water regularly during first month, especially.
Use as specimen, in drifts,
meadows, wildflower areas,
borders, foundations, cottage
gardens, for cut and dried
flowers, in areas of poor soil.
Attracts ladybugs.
Provides wildlife cover.
Deer seem to leave it alone.
Photo 1 Graham Wyatt
discoverlife.org/mp/20q?
search=Muhlenbergia+
capillaris
Photos 2, 4
The Battery Conservancy
Thebattery.org/plants/plant
View.php?id=116
Photo 3
Bobby Hattaway
discoverlife.org/mp/20q?
search=Muhlenbergia+
capillaris
Photos 5, 6
Missouri Botanical Garden
PlantFinder
mobot.org.gardeninghelp/
plantfinder
Photo 7
Contributors to The State
Botanical Garden of Georgia
discoverlife.org/mp/20q?
search=Muhlenbergia+
capillaris
Helen’s Flower ‘Ruby Tuesday’
(Helenium autumnale)
18-24” compact upright clumps, outwardly spreading habit;
stout stems branch near the top.
New England native. Found in thickets, wet
meadows, swamps, along streams, ponds.
Abundant 2” daisy-like flowers with fluted widely spaced
wedge-shaped deep ruby-red to copper-red rays, from a
prominent red-mahogany center dome with surrounding
saffron-colored stamens, July-September.
Narrow lance-shaped dark green 6" leaves.
Full sun. Medium to wet soil, prefers rich, moist soils.
Divide clumps every 3-4 years to maintain vigor.
Easy to grow.
Use in borders, cottage
gardens, cutting
gardens, moist soils
along bodies of water.
Much loved by longtongued bees, honey
bees, bumblebees,
miner bees.
Attracts butterflies.
Photos 1, 2
Alfred Osterloh
Commons.hortipedia.com/wiki/File:
Helenium_RUBY_TUESDAY_flowers_photo_file_742KB.jpg
Photos 3, 4, 5
North Central Conservation District