Perennials & Biennials
Showing 281–288 of 508 results
-
Lathyrus japonicus v. maritimus Beach pea Z 3-6
Magenta pea flowers June through August on its trailing stems. A legume, it puts nitrogen in the soil fertilizing plants growing nearby.
OUT OF STOCK – EMAIL FOR AVAILABILITY
Magenta pea flowers June through August on its trailing stems. A legume, it puts nitrogen in the soil fertilizing plants growing nearby.
Size: 18-24” tall but lays on ground, not upright
Care: sun in well-drained soil. Drought tolerant.
Native: all northern states from the Atlantic to the Pacific, Wisconsin native. (It seems strange that a variety of a plant native to Japan grows as a native in North America. The species, although named “Japonica” is circumpolar, native in the entire northern hemisphere.)
Wildlife Value: pollinated by bees, primarily bumblebeesIroquois cooked the stalks and leaves to remedy rheumatism. Taxonomic mess. First described and named in 1735 then another name in 1824, now changed again to its current name.
-
Lathyrus vernus Spring vetchling, Spring pea, Spring vetch Z 4-9
Bushy plants bear showy, red-purple pea-like blooms age to rich purple in March-June. Spring gem.
OUT OF STOCK
Bushy plants bear showy, red-purple pea-like blooms age to rich purple in March-June. Spring gem.
Size: 10” x 10”
Care: sun in north to shade in south, moist well-drained soil. Drought tolerant once established
Native: No. Europe - Siberia
Awards: Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit, Elisabeth Carey Miller Botanical Garden Great Plant PicksIntroduced to gardens before 1629 when herbalist John Parkinson (1567-1650) called it “Blew Everlasting Pease.”
-
Leucanthemum x superbum syn. Chrysanthemum x superbum Shasta Daisy
June – July classic white daisy hybridized by Luther Burbank.
June – July classic white daisy hybridized by Luther Burbank.
Size: 36” x 24”
Care: Sun - part shade in moist well-drained moderately fertile soilHybridized by Luther Burbank, the “plant wizard” during 17 years of intermittent work from 1884 – 1901. Quadruple hybrid made from the oxeye daisy, 2 European daisies and 1 Japanese daisy. Burbank introduced more than 800 plants. Named “Shasta” because the white petals reminded Burbank of the snow on top of California’s Mount Shasta.
-
Liatris aspera Rough blazing star Z 4-9
Feathery purple buttons along tall spikes August-October
OUT OF STOCK
Feathery purple buttons along tall spike in late summer: August-October
Size: 24”-30” x 12”-18”
Care: Sun in well-drained soil
Native: So. Canada, much of eastern 3/4th of U.S., Wisconsin Native
Wildlife Value: attract butterflies (favorite nectar for Monarchs and Buckeyes) & hummingbirds.Aspera is Latin meaning rough. 1st collected by Frenchman André Michaux (1746-1802) who spent 11 years in America collecting hundreds of new plants.
-
Liatris pycnostachya Prairie blazing star Z 3-9
Tall, erect, purplish- pink spike in August-September
OUT OF STOCK
Tall, erect, purplish- pink spike in August-September
Size: 4’ x 1-2’
Care: well-drained soil in full sun
Native: central & SE US
Wildlife Value: deer resistant, attracts birds, butterflies, and beesCollected by French planthunter Andre Michaux in 1795 on the prairies of Illinois. About 9 years later collected on the Lewis & Clark Expedition in South Dakota September 1804
-
Liatris spicata Blazing star, Gayfeather, Button snakeroot Z 3-8
Rosy purple spikes in July and August, a flower arranger’s dream
Rosy purple spikes in July and August, a flower arranger’s dream
Size: 2-3' x 18"
Care: Full sun in moist to well-drained soil.
Native: Eastern and southern U. S., Wisconsin native
Wildlife Value: favorite nectar source for Buckeye butterflies & host for caterpillars of Painted lady, Fritillaries, Skippers, Sulphurs, Coppers & Checkerspot butterflies.Native Americans used roots medicinally for backaches, colic, dropsy and to strengthen a weak heart. The Dakota recognized L. spicata as an indication “when the flower is blue-red that corn is good to eat.” Nicollet Diary, August 13, 1838. The dried root reputedly repelled moths from stored clothes. First collected by English naturalist Mark Catesby (1683-1749) and cultivated since 1732. Grown at America’s 1st botanic garden, Elgin Botanic Garden 1811.
-
Ligularia dentata In China called chi ye tuo wu, Leopard plant, Summer ragwort Z 3-8
Its leaves are as ornamental as its blooms – leaves are large, leathery, round with jagged margins and prominent veins; orange-yellow daisies, bloom in mid-summer
Its leaves are as ornamental as its blooms – leaves are large, leathery, round with jagged margins and prominent veins; orange-yellow daisies, bloom in mid-summer
Size: 3-4’ x 2-3’
Care: shade to part shade in moist to moist well-drained soil
Native: China & Honsu in JapanDentata refers to the jagged leaf edges. Collected and introduced to Europe by Carl Peter von Thunberg (1743-1828), student of Linnaeus at Uppsala University in Sweden. He made three trips to the Cape of Good Hope 1772-1775 where he collected about 1000 new species, Java and Ceylon (Sri Lanka) 1777 and 15 months in Japan (1775-1777) where he befriended local doctors who gave him hundreds of plants new to Western horticulture. He succeeded Linnaeus as professor of medicine and botany at Uppsala. Knighted by Swedish King Gustav.
-
Ligularia japonica syn. Ligularia kaempferi syn. Farfugium japonicum Leopard plant
Cutleaf bold foliage, golden yellow-orange daisy-like flowers in late summer
OUT OF STOCK
Cutleaf bold foliage, golden yellow-orange daisy-like flowers in late summer
Size: 4’ x 12”
Care: part shade in moist, fertile soil
Native: Japan, China & KoreaCollected and grown in the West before 1841. July 6 1872 The Garden reported that it bloomed in London.
