Prairie Plants

Showing 65–72 of 86 results

  • Penstemon grandiflorus Large beard tongue Z 3-9 short-lived perennial that reseeds

    Large pink to lavender trumpets along the 3’ stem in early summer

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    OUT OF STOCK

    Large pink to lavender trumpets along the 3’ stem in early summer

    Size: 3’ x 10”
    Care: full sun in well-drained soil
    Native: IL to N. Dakota, south to TX, Wisconsin
    Wildlife Value: attracts Baltimore butterfly

    Discovered by Thomas Nuttall, (1786-1859) who searched entire No. American continent, describing this Penstemon as “splendid and beautiful,” on his trip up the Missouri River in 1811. Cured chest pains and stomach aches for the Dakota and chills and fever for the Pawnee. Sioux made decoctions of this to remedy chills and fever and chest pain.

  • Penstemon tubaeflorus Great Plains Beardtongue 4-8

    Spikes of swan white trumpets with flared ends blooms in early summer.  One of most reliable, long lived penstemons.

    $12.75/bareroot

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    Spikes of swan white trumpets with flared ends blooms in early summer.  One of most reliable, long lived penstemons.

    Size: 2-3’x 15”
    Care: Sun in well-drained to moist well-drained soil
    Native: Central Plains N., S. to TX & NE to Maine, Wisconsin native
    Wildlife Value: feeds Baltimore butterfly, other butterflies, bees and hummingbirds

    Penstemon is named for its five stamens, penta meaning five and stemon meaning stamen in Greek.  Collected by English botanist Thomas Nuttall (1786-1859) who searched entire No. American continent – parts of Canada, from New England west to Oregon, parts of the South, Midwest, the Plains, the S.E., California & Hawaii, finding hundreds of new plants.

  • Phlox buckleyi Sword leaf Phlox Z 4-8

    Sprays of mauve, pink or purple in May-June

    $12.75/bareroot

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    Sprays of mauve, pink or purple in May-June

    Size: 8- 18” x 12”
    Care: sun to part shade in any soil
    Native: Virginia & West Virginia

    Bob from Texas reports “they are absolutely the most fragrant flowers we have ever experienced.  We only pick a few each spring and put them in a vase in the house with sugar sweetened water.  They produce that amazing fragrance in the house for virtually two full weeks in that vase while the rest put that aroma across the back yard.  Sword Leaf Phlox is simply an amazingly beautiful plant.”
    Described and named by Edgar Theodore Wherry (1885-1982), unflagging naturalist in the finest tradition of wide interests in the natural world.  After getting his Ph.D. in 1909 in geology-mineralogy he became Asst. Curator of Minerals for the Smithsonian.  In 8 years he transferred to the USDA Bureau of Chemistry, becoming its principal chemist.  In 1930 he was appointed botany professor at U. Penn., where he taught botany and ecology for 25 years.

    **LISTED AS OUT OF STOCK BECAUSE WE DO NOT SHIP THIS ITEM.  IT IS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE AT OUR RETAIL LOCATION.

  • Pulsatilla vulgaris var. rubra syn. Anemone pulsatilla var. rubra Pasqueflower

    Wine-red petals of bell-shape with yellow centers flowers in early spring. Fun, furry foliage

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    OUT OF STOCK

    Wine-red petals of bell-shape with yellow centers flowers in early spring. Fun, furry foliage and Medusa-like seed heads.

    Size: 12-20” x 4-8”
    Care: sun in well-drained to moist well-drained soil
    Native: Europe
    Wildlife Value: Deer resistant, early pollen source for bees.

    Called Pasqueflower because it blooms at Easter time. Variety rubra considered a separate species, not a variety, by Caspar Bauhin in Theatri botanici, 1671. Illustrated in Gerard’s Herball, 1636.

  • Pycanthemum virginianum Mountain mint Z 4-8

    Corymbs of numerous pinkish-white blossoms, leaves fragrant.

    $12.75/bareroot

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    Corymbs of numerous pinkish-white blossoms in August, leaves fragrant.

    Size: 3' x 18"
    Care: full sun to part shade in moist well-drained to well-drained soil
    Native: Wisconsin native, Eastern U.S.
    Wildlife Value: attracts butterflies, supports over 50 bee species.

    Named by Linnaeus in 1753.  Pycanthemum is Greek meaning “dense blossom.”  Chippewa used it to stop menstrual flow, cure chills and fever and to season meat.  The plant gave the Meskwaki energy and lured minks into their traps. Lakota Sioux: “The leaves make a very pleasant tea. An infusion of the plant is taken for coughs.” Grown at America’s 1st botanic garden, Elgin Botanic Garden 1811

  • Ratibida pinnata Prairie coneflower Z 3-8

    Skirt of drooping, sunny, thin petals surround erect brown cone on this fragrant flower, smelling of anise, June-August.

    $12.75/bareroot

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    Skirt of drooping, sunny, thin petals surround erect brown cone on this fragrant flower, smelling of anise, June-August.

    Size: 4' x 18"
    Care: sun to part shade in any soil
    Native: Ontario, VT to FL, SD to OK, Wisconsin native
    Wildlife Value: Butterfly plant. Birds eat seeds.

    Pinnata means feathery in Latin referring to the thin petals of the flower.  Native Americans cured toothaches with the root & made tea from the cone and leaves.  Collected by French plant hunter André Michaux (1746-1802) on the prairies of Illinois in 1795.

  • Rudbeckia subtomentosa Sweet coneflower Z 4-8

    These Rudbeckias tower above basal leaves on rigid, branching  stems forming clumps of sun  yellow petaled flowers surrounding a raised, brown-purple dome of disc flowers.

    $12.75/bareroot

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    These Rudbeckias tower above basal leaves on rigid, branching  stems forming clumps of sun  yellow petaled flowers surrounding a raised, brown-purple dome of disc flowers.

    Size: 4-5' x 1-2'
    Care: Sun to part shade in moist to moist well-drained soil
    Native: East US, Wisconsin native.
    Wildlife Value: attracts butterflies, deer resistant

    Rudbeckia was named by Linnaeus for his University of Upsala professor, Olaf Rudbeck.  Rudbeck made the surprising claim “that the Paradise of Scripture was situated somewhere in Sweden.” C.F. Level. This species described in 1815.  May have been collected by English planthunter John Bradbury (1768-1823).

  • Rudbeckia triloba Branched coneflower, Brown eyed susan Z 3-9

    Multitudes of stems, each bearing a small sunny daisy with brown centers at its tip for a  sun-drenched crowd from July to October, as cheery as they come.

    $12.25/bareroot

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    Multitudes of stems, each bearing a small sunny daisy with brown centers at its tip for a  sun-drenched crowd from July to October, as cheery as they come.

    Size: 3-4' x 2-3'
    Care: sun to part shade in moist well-drained to well-drained soil
    Native: most of North America, Wisconsin native
    Wildlife Value: Numerous bees, some flies, a few wasps and butterflies feed on the nectar and pollen. One bee feeds only on Rudbeckias and Ratibida flowers.
    Awards: Georgia Gold Medal winner. England’s Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit.

    Rudbeckia was named by Linnaeus for his University of Upsala professor and founder of the Uppsala botanic Garden, and his son, University of Uppsala professor named Olaf Rudbeck.  This species collected in Colonial Virginia in 1600’s.