Prairie Plants
Showing 49–56 of 86 results
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Geranium maculatum American Cranesbill, Wild geranium, Spotted geranium Z 3-8
Clusters of two to five pink infused with lavender, flowers of five, paddle-shaped petals bloom in late spring to early summer.
Clusters of two to five pink infused with lavender, flowers of five, paddle-shaped petals bloom in late spring to early summer.
Size: 24" x 18"
Care: Full sun to part shade in moist to moist well-drained soil
Native: East North America, Wisconsin native.
Wildlife Value: primarily visited by several kinds of bees.Native Americans taught colonists to use the plant to cure diarrhea, dysentery, and hemorrhaging. Also used on sores, open wounds, canker sores and sore feet. The Choctaw prescribed it for venereal disease. Sent to Europe in 1732. Jefferson asked John Bartram to obtain seeds, 1786. Collected by French plant hunter André Michaux (1746-1802). Pressed specimen in Emily Dickinson’s herbarium.
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Geum triflorum Prairie smoke, Old Man’s whiskers Z 3-7
Pale purplish-pink dangling cup-shaped flowers in spring to early summer, followed by hair-like, pink seed heads like the hair on a troll doll.
Pale purplish-pink dangling cup-shaped flowers in spring to early summer, followed by hair-like, pink seed heads like the hair on a troll doll.
Size: 10" x 8" but slow to grow to this width
Care: sun in well-drained to moist well-drained soil
Native: all of northern No. America, Wisconsin native
Wildlife Value: attracts butterflies, bees, wasps, and moths. Resists deer and rabbits.
Awards: Great Plants for Great PlainsIntroduced to gardens in 1609. Many Native American medicinal uses. Blackfeet used it to cure coughs, skin sores and wounds on people and horses, swollen eyes, canker sores, and fuzzy thinking in people. Crushed, ripe seeds made a perfume. Okanagan-Colville women made a love potion from the roots, as well as curing vaginal yeast infections. The Eastern Cascades of Canada brewed a medicinal tea for eye-wash, sore throats, and general aches from the plant. Sioux used it for many ailments: sore eyes, canker sores, sore throat, perfume, wounds, and added it to mixtures of plants for smoking. Collected by Meriwether Lewis on June 12, 1806 on the Weippe Prairie, not far from the villages of the Nez Perce in Idaho.
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Hystrix patula syn. Elymus hystris var. hystris Bottle brush grass Z 5-9
June thru fall bears 6” long spikes looking like bottle brushes
OUT OF STOCK- PLEASE EMAIL FOR AVAILABILITY
June thru fall bears 6” long spikes looking like bottle brushes.
Size: 2-3’ x 12-18”
Care: sun to part shade in dry to moist well-drained soil - tolerates dry shade
Native: Nova Scotia S to Virginia, W to ND and OK. Wisconsin native
Wildlife Value: Birds eat seedsHystrix from the Greek (‘hedgehog’) meaning “with spikes” or “bristly” describing the flowers and patula means “spreading.” Collected before 1794. In 1913 L H Bailey wrote, “sometimes used for lawn decoration and for borders.”
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Iris versicolor Blue flag Z 3-9
Purple, lavender or blue flowers in June
Purple, lavender or blue flowers in June
Size: 36" x 12"
Care: sun, moist to moist well-drained soil
Native: Eastern United States, Wisconsin nativeIris is named after the Greek goddess who accompanied the souls of women to the Elysian Fields by way of the rainbow. Her footprints left flowers the colors of the rainbow. Iris means the eye of heaven. Omaha Indians used the roots topically to cure earaches. Other tribes applied a poultice to cure sores and bruises. Root is poisonous. Cultivated in gardens since the 1700’s.
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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.
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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
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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.
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Lilium superbum Meadow lily Z 4-8
Brilliant orange with purple spots, Turks’-cap type, reflexed petals (tepals), blooming in late summer to early fall.
OUT OF STOCK
Brilliant orange with purple spots, Turks’-cap type, reflexed petals (tepals), blooming in late summer to early fall.
Size: 10’ x 12”
Care: Sun in moist to moist-well-drained, acidic soil
Native: from VT to Fl & west to Mississippi River, Wisconsin nativeLilium was named for the Greek word for smooth, polished referring to its leaves. This collected before 1665. In his 1665 book, Flora, seu de Florum Cultura John Rea, nurseryman and author, called it the “Virginia Martagon.” Sold in America’s 1st plant catalog, Bartram’s Broadside, 1783. L.H. Bailey (1913): “The most magnificent and showy of native North American species, well worthy of extensive cultivation.”
