What's Up, Buttercup?

Do you know your Minnesota native plants?

Native Plants Topped ASLA’s List.
 A new survey from the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA)
identified what they expected to be the top projects with the highest consumer demand:

Native plants—83.3%
Native/adapted drought tolerant plants—83.0%
Low-maintenance landscapes—80.0%
Flexible use space (for yoga classes, movie night, etc.)—74.2%
Drip/water-efficient irrigation—72.4%
Permeable paving—74.0%
Rain gardens—71.2%
Reduced lawn area—70.8%
Food/vegetable gardens (including orchards, vineyards, etc.) —70.5%

So, while definitely a trending topic, planting natives has many advantages.

Don't get me wrong, they will never replace a geranium on your patio.

But they do have their place and will tolerate a lot of neglect.

Most are deer resistant.  Deer will eat them, of course, but not if there are 

other delicacies for them in the area.

 Many are xeric, which means they can tolerate extremely dry conditions.

As natives, they are tolerant of our cold winters.

Some can be planted in areas that are soggy where other plants would drown.

It's also important to realize that some plants growing in the wild
 may or may not be native, and/or are invasive.
For a complete list of noxious and invasive species,
click on the link:

Minnesota DNR Noxious Weeds List

 

The following is a smattering of the native varieties available to the Minnesota gardener,
and we'll have them all for you in Spring 2018.

Caltha palustris.

Commonly called marsh marigolds, they are also known as kingcups,

and often mistaken for buttercups. 

One of the first bloomers in the spring northwoods, they will

happily grow in water or saturated soil.

Another native that loves the water is 

iris versicolor,

matures to 24-36" in height and grows best in wet,soil conditions. Iris versicolor prefers 

full sun to partial shade and blooms approximately May, June, and  July.  

It has deep blue to purple flowers, the foliage is sword-like, and the flowers are complex and showy.

Irises may have been used medicinally in the past, but their roots are dangerously poisonous to both humans and livestock.  Iris versicolor attracts butterflies and hummingbirds.  Other common names are Blue Flag Iris, Harlequin Blue Flag, Northern Iris, and Wild Iris.

Chelone glabra,

or Turtlehead 

  likes wet to moist soils and full to part sun. The plants have deep green foliage of 

lance-shaped leaves on upright stems and grow to 5 feet tall.  They make a good choice for 

border and wet meadow plantings and will provide for a late summer bloom.

Asarum canadensis, or Canadian Wild Ginger

 

will grow 6" in height and the large heart-shaped leaves can be 6" in diameter. 

The leaves are shiny when fully opened and the stems are hairy, so the deer don't like them.  

Unlike many early spring woodland plants,  Wild Ginger will keep its foliage throughout 

the season; it will not go dormant so it is a good species to plant among 

the spring ephemerals that do go dormant. 

Wild ginger flower


At this point, you will have noticed that we're referring to everything by its Latin name.
This is important when talking plants in general, but I think
it's especially important with natives to be sure you're getting the right plant.

Lobelia cardinalis,

or Cardinal flower
 

 

is named for its beautiful scarlet red flowers which are an important nectar source for
hummingbirds and swallowtail butterflies. Lobelias produce a secondary compound known as "lobeline," which deters herbivores. The flowering spikes open from the bottom to the top
and bloom for several weeks. They grow best in moist, rich soils in full sun to partial shade. Cardinal flower is a showy plant great for the garden or wetland planting.


Anenome patens wolfgangiana,
or Pasque flower.

 

The plant is only 6" high and tolerant of dry soils, so perfect for a rock garden.
The flowers appear before the leaves, and the seedheads are silvery and plume like.
Pasque flowers are a member of the buttercup family.

Similar in nature and habit is
Geum triflorum, or Prairie Smoke.

 

Blooming in spring to early summer, Prairie Smoke will spread slowly from its roots
in well-drained, dry to wet soils.  It prefers full to partial sun and has a
native range from the northern tier of the US through most of Canada.

Eupatorium purpureum, or
Sweet Joe Pye Weed

 

 is easy to grow and its vanilla-scented flowers are irresistible for Monarchs, Swallowtails
and many other butterflies. Not many Woodland flowering plants can reach heights of 7',
but this variety does, so plant it in the back of the garden.

Aquilegia canadensis, or columbine

will thrive in shade, and is one of the first plants to provide nectar in the
spring for bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. The colorful flowers are red flowing into
yellow.  Besides being an early bloomer, Columbine will tolerate a large range of soil and
sun types, so you'll have success with it in full sun as well as shade.
It can grow in pine tree areas and is deer-resistant.

Lupinus perennis, or
Wild Lupine

 

 blooms profusely in spikes in mid to late summer that make it a popular choice for gardens that are dry or have sandy soils.  Lupines readily self-seed, and have very deep tap roots,
so are not appropriate for use on top of a septic drain field.

Rudbeckia triloba
 many common names include Brown-Eyed Susan, Branched Coneflower,
Thin-Leaved Coneflower and Three-Lobed Coneflower.

 

It prefers moderate moisture, but Brown-eyed Susan tolerates most conditions,
including drought, once it is established. A short-lived perennial, it self-seeds readily, flowering
in its second year. Its abundant bright yellow flowers are flat, one to two inches across, with
jet black centers that fade to brown. Blooming from late summer until hard frost,
Rudbeckia triloba reaches two to five feet tall and becomes bushy if not crowded by other plants.


Helianthus maximilani,
 also called Maximilian Sunflower
 

is very showy and towers above surrounding vegetation when in bloom.
It is rhizomatous (spreading underground) and may spread vigorously.  It may not be suitable for small landscape plantings. It is best suited for full sun in dry to medium conditions.

Asclepias syriaca
 or common milkweed

 Monarch butterflies lay their eggs exclusively on Milkweed plants, making them the sole food source for their larvae.  Common Milkweed numbers have been in dramatic decline in recent years, due in part to suburban development and the increased efficiency of herbicides used in conjunction
with herbicide-tolerant, genetically modified row crops.

It spreads readily by seed and underground rhizomes and its taproot can withstand drought.
Common Milkweed is one of the easiest and fastest to establish of the Milkweeds.

The photos for this post were taken from Prairie Moon Nursery website, which is
an excellent source for information on native plants.
For more information, visit them at
www.prairiemoon.com