Heliopsis helianthoides

Probably my favorite native wildflower is Heliopsis helianthoides, a member of the sunflower family (Asteraceae). Pronounce it heal ee OP sis heal ee ann THOY dees, or you can call it ox-eye sunflower or just plain old Heliopsis. Its genus and species are both Greek in origin. Heliopsis means ‘sun-eye’, and helianthoides means ‘like a sunflower’. That’s a pretty good description as far as it goes, but there’s a lot more to this native perennial and it’s pretty much all good. Here in the panhandle, Heliopsis blooms its heart out from late spring until frost; and it’s tough and drought tolerant. In the middle of July and August when so many other plants in our yards look hot and tired—and so do we unless we’re enjoying our gardens through the window of an air conditioned room—Heliopsis is still beautiful and blooming with a profusion of bright yellow, daisy-like flowers. That’s not to say it would not eventually succumb given no water at all; it just lasts considerably longer than most. I should warn you however that Heliopsis is not the most impressive plant during that first year after you introduce it into your garden. It doesn’t look like much in the pot either. I cannot tell you how many customers I’ve practically bullied into purchasing it. Most of them come back for more though. Once Heliopsis has had a season or two to fill in, it’s just gorgeous.

Plant Heliopsis in full sun to part—although full sun is best for lots more flowers. It tolerates a wide range of soil types from moderately moist to dry, including nutrient poor soils. It’ll grow two to three feet in height and spread and fill in by rhizome. It’s mostly pest and disease free, although it’ll sometimes get aphids. In most cases, I wouldn’t bother to treat them. Heliopsis is tough enough to stand up to them, and having a few aphids around will help attract beneficial insects to your yard.

You can divide Heliopsis in the fall, after you have a good thick clump of it. Use it to fill in bare spots in your garden or pass some on to a friend. They’ll be glad you did and so will their bees and butterflies. Heliopsis is a great pollinator attractant. It also makes a great, long lasting cut flower.

So what’s not to love about Heliopsis! There are cultivated varieties available in the industry, but why bother when the original is such a winner just the way nature made it.

At Native Nurseries, we typically stock Heliopsis in 4” and 1-gallon pots. Currently we have 4" pots only. As always, give us a call to check availability before making a special trip (although we’re always happy to see you). Sorry . . . we do not ship plants.

Some information for this blog post came from the following sources –

USDA NRCS: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.370.1457&rep=rep1&type=pdf

University of Maryland

Purple Coneflower

Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea, pronounced eck-kin-NAY-see-uh pur-pur-EE-uh) is one of our favorite native wildflowers here at Native Nurseries. It’s a strong, drought tolerant perennial, for full sun to part. Although it’s tough and easy to grow - not fussy at all – it does prefer well-drained, neutral to alkaline soil. So unless you’re putting it in garden soil that’s been amended with mushroom compost over the years, adding a little dolomite lime to our acidic Tallahassee soil is a good idea.

You (and the butterflies and bees) will enjoy almost non-stop blooming from summer to frost with this impressive wildflower. It’s a member of the compositae family, so what looks like one flower is actually a flower head containing many small flowers. In the case of the purple coneflower, the flower head is orange and cone-shaped surrounded by pinkish/purple petals (bracts). They occur on sturdy stalks, which may reach five feet in height. Despite that height they rarely require staking. Purple coneflower also makes a great, long lasting cut flower.

Propagation is easy. It reseeds readily and can also be started from root division. For best results, divide purple coneflower plants in the fall and no more than once every three to four years.

If it starts to look tired or ragged in late summer, you can cut purple coneflower back by about a third. This will rejuvenate the plant and most likely cause a new flush of blooming that lasts till frost.

There are many cultivars of purple coneflower; and although they are beautiful, so far we are not very impressed. While most probably do well for the season in which you plant them, many do not come back the next spring, at least not in this part of the country – or they are not as pretty if they do. Lilly has had some success with Cheyenne Spirit, Pow Wow Berry and Pow Wow White; but she’s only had them for two years, so the jury’s still out. Donna says Kim’s Knee High was nice for two years but has not performed well since then. So far you just cannot beat the native species for longevity and reliable performance.

I did touch on butterflies and bees, but the capacity of this wonderful wildflower for attracting these pollinators to your yard deserves another mention. Plant it in or near your vegetable garden to ensure plenty of pollinators for your tomatoes and such. Plant it anywhere there’s adequate sun to invite more butterflies into your yard. Just plant it, and you’ll be glad you did.

At Native Nurseries, we typically stock purple coneflower in 4” and 1-gallon pots. Currently we have both. As always, give us a call to check availability before making a special trip (although we’re always happy to see you). Sorry . . . we do not ship plants.

Some information for this blog post came from the following sources –

http://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/database/documents/pdf/shrub_fact_sheets/echpura.pdf

http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/coneflower/growing-purple-coneflowers.htm

Cut-leaf Rudbeckia

Native to North America, cut-leaf rudbeckia (Rudbeckia laciniata) is thriving in my perennial garden. Further north it’s an herbaceous perennial, but here in Tallahassee it is usually evergreen. This edible wildflower, most often found in flood plains and moist soil, shoots up rapidly in spring. The new foliage can be used as a salad green or steamed. This time of year it is 4 to 5’ tall with robust, glossy green foliage and flower buds showing. It won’t be long until it blooms profusely with beautiful, yellow-green coneflowers.

Give cut-leaf rudbeckia full to partial sun and regular waterings – it is not drought tolerant. It’s a great perennial to divide and share with friends, and it holds up well as a cut flower.  It’s a good one to add to your butterfly garden – quite pretty alongside red pentas.

My co-worker, Mary at the nursery, likes it even when it’s not blooming because its knee-high basal foliage is very attractive. She cuts the flower stems out at the base once it’s done blooming so it won’t reseed. Cut-leaf rudbeckia does spread, but I do not consider it to be overly aggressive.

At Native Nurseries, we typically stock Rudbeckia laciniata (cut-leaf rudbeckia) in quarts and 1-gallon pots. Currently we have quarts only. As always, give us a call to check availability before making a special trip (although we’re always happy to see you). Sorry . . . we do not ship plants.