Perennials & Biennials

Showing 489–496 of 508 results

  • Vaccinium vitis-idaea Lingonberry, Mountain cranberry, Cowberry, Foxberry Z 2-7

    Evergreen foliage on this shrub, In spring down facing, pink urn-shaped flowers bloom. Then in late summer bright red berries appear and persist into winter. Spreads to form colony.

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    Evergreen foliage on this shrub, In spring down facing, pink urn-shaped flowers bloom. Then in late summer bright red berries appear and persist into winter. Spreads to form colony.

    Size: 6-12” x 3’ spreading
    Care: sun to part shade in moist, very acidic soil
    Native: Boreal forest and Arctic tundra in Northern Hemisphere from Eurasia to North America, Wisconsin native.
    Size: Often made into jam, juice, syrup and relish. The berries contain high amounts of vitamin C, A and B1, B2, B3, as well as phytochemicals and omega-3 fatty acids. Historically used in folk medicine as an astringent, antihemorrhagic, anti-debilitive, depurative, antiseptic, diuretic, tonic for the nervous system, as well as treatment for breast cancer, diabetes, rheumatism, infections, gastrointestinal tract, kidneys, urinary tract ailments and fever.

    In 1745 Russian Empress Elizabeth ordered lingonberry planted all over grounds at Peterhof  Palace in St. Petersburg.  The common name Lingonberry comes from the Norse word for heather, lyngr. Vitis- idaea  comes from vitis  which is Latin for vine and idaea meaning “from Mount Ida.”  According to L.H. Bailey, “Throughout the whole of N. Canada, hunters and trappers, as well as the native Indians, frequently depend on it for food.  It is valuable for the shrubbery border, where the strong contrast of the dark green foliage and the bright colored persistent fruit is very striking.”

  • Verbascum nigrum Dark mullein Z 4-9

    June to October (if deadheaded) canary yellow, occasionally ivory, spikes with purple stamens.

    $12.75/bareroot

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    June to October (if deadheaded) canary yellow, occasionally ivory, spikes with purple stamens.

    Size: 36" x 24"
    Care: Sun in moist well-drained to well-drained soil - self-seeder. Drought tolerant.
    Native: Europe to Siberia

    Verbascum was named by the Roman Pliny who said they attracted moths, calling them Moth mulleins.  Cultivated in gardens as long ago as Medieval times. Favorite plant in Elizabethan cottage gardens in the 1500’s. Grown in the Eichstätt Garden, the garden of Johann Konrad von Gemmingen, prince bishop of Eichstätt in Bavaria, c. 1600.  Described by Parkinson in 1629 as: “a stalke whereon stand many golden flowers with the like purple threads in the middle.”

  • Verbena bonariensis Perennial Z 7-10, colder zones-reseeding annual

    Small purple flowers atop tall leafless stems from July to October. Great see-through blooms for growing in back, middle or front of the garden.

    $3.75/pot

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    Small purple flowers atop tall leafless stems from July to October.  Great see-through blooms for growing in back, middle or front of the garden.

    Size: 3-4’ x 8”
    Care: full sun in moist, well-drained, fertile soil - self-seeder
    Native: South America
    Awards: Royal Horticultural Society Award of Merit & Missouri Botanic Garden Plant of Merit.

    Introduced to garden cultivation from its native Buenos Aires in 1726 by the Sherard brothers.

  • Verbena hastata Blue vervain, Simpler’s joy Z 3-9

    Bright purplish-blue candelabra-like spikes from July to September

    $12.25/bareroot

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    Bright purplish-blue candelabra-like spikes from July to September

    Size: 2-4’ x 2’
    Care: sun to part shade in moist or moist well-drained soil
    Native: eastern 2/3rds of No. America, Wisconsin native
    Wildlife Value: Cardinals & Sparrows eat the seeds. Food for larvae of Buckeye butterfly.

    Native Americans used plant as remedy for coughs, colds and fever.  Mahuna Indians of So. California used the root to cure complicated stomach fevers.   Sioux fed the seeds to their horses to give them energy.  The Sioux also used it as an insect repellant.  Pressed specimen in Emily Dickinson’s herbarium.

  • Vernonia fasciculata Prairie Ironweed Z 3-7

    Dense clusters of true royal purple July-September

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    Dense clusters of true royal purple July-September

    Size: 3-4’ x 2-3’
    Care: sun to part shade in moist to moist well drained soil
    Native: so central Canada to central & eastern US
    Wildlife Value: Butterfly attractor – Fiery skipper, deer & rabbit resistant.

    Lakota Sioux: “The leaves are formed into a sort of “plate” that keeps foreign matter from getting on meat. An infusion of the root is used to regulate menstrual periods.”
    Collected by French planthunter André Michaux (1746-1802) who spent 11 years exploring America for plants.  Named to honor Wm. Vernon (1666-1711) English botanist who collected plants in late 1600’s.  

  • Vernonia lettermannii Threadleaf ironweed Z 4-9

    Deep purple inch-wide flower heads top unbranched stems forming a dome in late summer-early fall

    $12.75/bareroot

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    Deep purple inch-wide flower heads top unbranched stems forming a dome in late summer-early fall

    Size: 24” x 36”
    Care: sun in well-drained to moist well-drained soil
    Native: Arkansas and OK
    Wildlife Value: attracts numerous butterflies and pollen source for bees, deer resistant
    Awards: Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Gold Medal 2023

    Collected on “Cooper’s Creek by Dr. J.M. Bigelow and on the sandbars of the Washita,.” Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts xvi. (1881) 78. 78 1880. “Notes on Some Compositae”  The species named to honor George Lettermann (1840-1913) who was primarily interested in trees and, while working for the US Census he collected tree specimens in  forests of Missouri, Arkansas, western Louisiana and eastern Texas.  

  • Vernonia noveboracensis Ironweed Z 4-8

    Heads of numerous deep, royal purple, platter-forming flower several feet high above in late summer

    $12.75/bareroot

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    Heads of numerous deep, royal purple, platter-forming flower several feet high above in late summer

    Size: 6-7' x 3'
    Care: Sun in moist to moist well-drained soil
    Native: Massachusetts to Florida
    Wildlife Value: attracts butterflies

    Named for English botanist William Vernon. Infusions of the plant used by Cherokee to relieve pain after childbirth, for loose teeth and for stomach ulcers.

  • Veronica armena Armenian speedwell Z 4-9

    A peewee plant that packs a punch.  In spring to early summer terminal clusters of cup-shaped Vermeer blue flowers made of 4 obovate, smooth-edged petals set off snow white eyes with matching white stamens.  Below the floral crown forest-green, soft, needle-sized leaves frame the blue and detail texture for the rest of the season.

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    OUT OF STOCK

    A peewee plant that packs a punch.  In spring to early summer terminal clusters of cup-shaped Vermeer blue flowers made of 4 obovate, smooth-edged petals set off snow white eyes with matching white stamens.  Below the floral crown forest-green, soft, needle-sized leaves frame the blue and detail texture for the rest of the season.

    Size: 4” x 6” and spreading
    Care: sun in well-drained soil
    Native: Armenia, Georgia and Turkey

    Discovered before 1856 when it was named and described by Swiss explorer and botanist Pierre Edmond Boissier.