Prairie Plants

Showing 9–16 of 86 results

Artemisia frigida Prairie sagewort, Silky wormwood Z 3-10
Erect stems bear silvery-white, finely-divided foliage. Leaves smell like camphor. Inconspicuous yellow flowers bloom in summer.
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Erect stems bear silvery-white, finely-divided foliage. Leaves smell like camphor. Inconspicuous yellow flowers bloom in summer.

Size: 6-18” x 12-18”
Care: sun in well-drained soil. Drought tolerant.
Native: all North America except the SE, CA and OR, Wisconsin native
Wildlife Value: source of nesting material for native bees, food for caterpillars of several butterflies & moths
Awards: Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit
Native Americans used this Artemisia to preserve meat, feed horses, repel insects, to remedy toothache, headache, coughing, lung ailments, heartburn, and colds. Indians in Great Basin used it in ceremonies. Chippewa made a decoction of root for convulsions. For the Lakota this was “women’s medicine” with an infusion helping regulate menstrual periods and induce contractions in pregnancy.
Meriwether Lewis collected this along the Missouri River in South Dakota on October 3, 1804.
Artemisia ludoviciana Silver sage, Wormwood Z 4-9
Grown for its silver-grey foliage in the garden & dried in arrangements.
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Grown for its silver-grey foliage in the garden & dried in arrangements

Size: 3’ x 2’ and spreading
Care: sun in well-drained soil
Native: Colorado south to Texas, west to California.
Size: Cut fresh or dried flowers, prairie garden
Blackfoot used the leaves to clean themselves as part of religious rituals. California’s Shasta Indians used the leaves to prepare dead bodies to be buried. HoChunk made a smudge to revive the unconscious. Cahuilla Indians made baskets and roofs and walls of their homes with the stems. First collected for gardens by Meriwether Lewis October 1, 1804 in South Dakota. Artemisia named for the wife of Mausolus, king of Caria, who began using the plants and adopted it as hers. Miller 1768.
Asclepias incarnata Swamp milkweed Z 3-9
Fragrant medium pink umbels, like an upside down ballerina’s skirt, July – September. One of internationally known garden designer Piet Oudolf’s 100 “MUST HAVE” plants, Gardens Illustrated 94 (2013)
$12.75/bareroot
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Fragrant medium pink umbels, like an upside down ballerina’s skirt, July – September. One of internationally known garden designer Piet Oudolf’s 100 “MUST HAVE” plants, Gardens Illustrated 94 (2013)

Size: 3’-4’ x 2-3’
Care: Sun in moist to moist well-drained soil
Native: North America – all states except those along the Pacific Coast – Wisconsin native.
Wildlife Value: host for Monarch caterpillars, flowers are source of nectar for several butterflies
Named after Asclepias, a Greek god of medicine. Native American groups used Swamp milkweed – Chippewa to increase their strength & the stems made into twine; Iroquois to heal navels in babies, to increase or decrease urine and to make a person strong enough to punish witches; Meskwaki to drive out tapeworms; and Menominee used it as an ingredient in food – added to deer soup & cornmeal mush. Oneida used the root to remedy asthma and whooping cough. They made thread to sew moccasins with the stems. Lakota Sioux: “The pulverized root is made into a salve which is used to treat swollen glands. The young seed pods are edible after cooking. An infusion of the roots is used to treat asthma, rheumatism, syphilis, and a weak heart.” Listed as growing in England in Philip Miller’s Gardeners’ Dictionary, 1768. Grown at America’s 1^st botanic garden, Elgin Botanic Garden 1811. Pressed specimen in Emily Dickinson’s herbarium. “The downy parachutes . . . attached to each seed are six times more buoyant than cork and five times warmer than wool. Large quantities of milkweed were grown for use as stuffing in pillows and lifejackets during World War II.” USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Asclepias tuberosa Butterfly weed, Pleurisy-root Z 4-9
Gorgeous - July - September bright orange cymes
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Gorgeous – July – September bright orange cymes

Size: 2-3' x 12"
Care: Sun in well-drained to moist well-drained soil
Native: East and south North America, Wisconsin native
Wildlife Value: Host for Monarch caterpillars and its nectar is a favorite for 13 different butterflies: 4 Swallowtails, 2 Fritillaries, Checkered white, Spring azure, Small copper, Sachem, Monarch, and Coral and Gray hairstreaks. Attracts Ladybugs that eat many insect pests.
Awards: Great Plants for Great Plains; Perennial Plant Assn. Plant of the Year 2017.
Named after Asclepias, a Greek god of medicine. Omaha Indians ate the raw root to cure bronchial and pulmonary ailments, their Shell Society was the authorized guardian of the plant, taking 4 days to dig, prepare and distribute the root. Most important medicine for Menominee Indians. The Iroquois smashed roots on legs to impart strength to runners. Navajo cured coyote bites and flu with Butterfly weed. HoChunk placed masticated root into wounds. Collected and sent to England by Rev. John Banister in colonial Virginia c. 1680. Cultivated by Jefferson. Pressed specimen in Emily Dickinson’s herbarium.
Aster novae angliae syn. Symphyotrichum New England Aster Z 4-8
August – October, classic violet, pink or magenta daisies
$12.75/bareroot
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August – October, classic violet, pink or magenta daisies

Size: 3-4' x 24"
Care: Full sun dry to moist soil. Heat and drought tolerant.
Native: Vt to Alabama, west to N. M., Wisconsin native
Wildlife Value: Nectar source for many butterflies - Checkered white and Checkered skippers, Spring azure, Pearl crescent, Buckeye, Painted lady, Fiery skip butterfly, Sachem, Sleepy orange, Silver-spotted skipper and Monarch. Host for caterpillars Wavy-lined emerald moth.
Aster means star, referring to the flower’s form. For the Cherokee New England aster tea cured fevers and diarrhea. Roots remedied pain and inflammation of the nose and throat. Introduced to garden cultivation by John Tradescant the Younger (1608-1662) in 1637 when he sent it to England where upon borders of New England aster became common. Washington grew New England Aster at Mount Vernon.
Baptisia australis syn. Saphora australis False Indigo Z 3-9
Foot-long spires of indigo blue pea-like flowers (it’s a legume) in June followed by ornamental black seed pods on this perennial that looks like a shrub. Internationally known garden designer Piet Oudolf’s 100 “MUST HAVE” plants, Gardens Illustrated 94 (2013).
$12.95/bareroot
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Foot-long spires of indigo blue pea-like flowers (it’s a legume) in June followed by ornamental black seed pods on this perennial that looks like a shrub. Internationally known garden designer Piet Oudolf’s 100 “MUST HAVE” plants, Gardens Illustrated 94 (2013).

Size: 3' x 3'
Care: Full sun in well-drained soil. Heat and drought tolerant.
Native: Eastern United States, Wisconsin native.
Wildlife Value: Food source for several caterpillars and nectar for a number of butterflies. Deer resistant.
Awards: Received England’s Royal Horticultural Society Award of Merit. Perennial Plant Association Plant of the Year Award, 2010. Missouri Botanic Garden Plant of Merit
Baptisia is Greek meaning to dye referring to use of the plant as a substitute for indigo dye. Cherokee used Baptisia australis for a number of illnesses: cease mortification, cure toothaches. Collected by John Bartram (1699-1777) plant explorer and colonial nurseryman by 1748.
Baptisia leucantha syn. Baptisia lacteata, Baptisia alba White Wild Indigo, Prairie wild indigo Z 3-9
Towering creamy white flower spikes in May & June followed by dark seed pods.
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Towering creamy white flower spikes in May & June followed by dark seed pods.

Size: 3-5' x 2-3'
Care: full sun to part shade in rich well-drained soil.
Native: Wisconsin native – from Minnesota to Texas.
Wildlife Value: food source for several caterpillars and nectar and pollen for a number of butterflies and bees. Deer resistant.
Winnebago (HoChunk) mashed cooked root to make a poultice applied to remedy inflammation of the womb. Baptisia is Greek meaning to dye referring to use of Baptisia australis as a substitute for indigo dye. Leucantha means white flowered.
Baptisia sphaerocarpa Yellow wild indigo Z 5-8
Spikes of yellow pea-like flowers in spring cover this broad plant - really makes you say “awe” or “oooh” when it blooms. All season resembles a shrub Flowers turn into round seed pods the size of a marble. This is a legume that improves soil fertility by making nitrogen available to the Baptisa and surrounding plants.
$12.75/bareroot
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Spikes of yellow pea-like flowers in spring cover this broad plant – really makes you say “awe” or “oooh” when it blooms. All season resembles a shrub, flowers turn into round seed pods the size of a marble. This is a legume that improves soil fertility by making nitrogen available to the Baptisa and surrounding plants.

Size: 3’ x 3’
Care: sun to part shade in moist well-drained to dry soil.
Native: Missouri to Mississippi to TX
Wildlife Value: Attracts butterflies. Deer resistant
Awards: Missouri Botanic Garden Plant of Merit.
Baptisia is Greek meaning “to dye” referring to use of Baptisia australis as a substitute for indigo dye. Sphaerocarpa means “round seed.” Collected before 1834 by Thomas Nuttall (1786-1859) English planthunter who scoured the US from the Atlantic to the Pacific.