This selection of the native wood aster is a prolific bloomer, carpeting the shade garden with light blue in early fall, when little else blooms and the hostas are in decline. A quick and easy pot crop for fall sales. Beautiful and long-lasting as a filler in autumn flower arrangements!
Click here for more information on growing Aster cordifolius ‘Avondale’.
Bright white flowers are larger and showier than the species. It is a longer-lived and better smelling substitute for baby's breath! June-October bloom in an average to dry location.
Click here for more information about growing Calamintha nepeta ‘White Cloud’.
Extraordinarily eye-catching, Carex testacea 'Prairie Fire' is also one of the cold-hardier New Zealand Hairy Sedges. It forms a low, cascading mound of narrow, arching, olive-green leaves tipped with bright orange highlights. Inconspicuous brown flower spikes are produced in summer whose stems droop gracefully as they age.
Click here for more information on growing Carex testacea ‘Prarie Fire’.
Easily grown in average, medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun. Tolerates a wide range of soils except wet, poorly-drained ones. Prefers somewhat infertile loams, but performs well in poor, rocky soils. Sharp drainage is essential. Plants have shallow fibrous root systems.
Click here for more information on growing Cotinus ‘Royal Purple’'.
Grow in average, dry to medium, well-drained soils in full sun. Plants generally perform best in sandy or gravelly loams in hot, dry locations. Plants tolerate infertile, poor soils. Good resistance to drought. Plants spread by self-seeding and by stems rooting along the ground at the nodes. Propagate by seed or division in spring.
Click here for more information on Eragrostis spectabilis.
A heat-tolerant villosa hybrid with incredible, high-impact color. Delicate sprays of tiny white flowers rise on narrow, dark plum-colored stems above dramatic bronze-plum foliage. The nice mounding habit creates great a display in brightly shaded beds, borders or containers. Evergreen in mild winter climates.
Click here for more information on Heuchera ‘Carnival Plum Crazy’.
Glossy, mahogany-red ruffled foliage provides dramatic color. Foliage changes from spring purple tones to summer red tones. Rich foliage color combines well with the yellows and blues of other plants. The few flowers are insignificant.
Click here for more information on Heuchera ‘Mahogany’.
Easily grown in average, dry to medium, well-drained soils in full sun. Thrives in sandy to gravelly soils of moderate to low fertility. Tolerates some light part shade in hot summer climates, but will produce weak floppy growth when grown in too much shade or in overly rich soils. Needs good soil drainage to perform well. Drought tolerant.
Click here for more information on Hylotelephium telephium ‘Matrona’.
Striking and eye-catching with its brilliant crimson leaves, Imperata cylindrica 'Red Baron' is a very distinctive ornamental grass. It produces upright, bright green blades whose upper half turns cranberry-red in summer and deepens to burgundy until late fall before it goes dormant in winter.
Click here for more information on growing Imperata ‘Red Baron’.
Kniphofia ‘Poco Orange’. Bred for very short grassy leaves and a compact habit, 'Poco Orange' is great for the small garden or for a mass-effect in the border. Flowers are burnished orange with hot red tips. Kniphofia, also called tritoma, red hot poker, torch lily, knofflers or poker plant, is a genus of perennial flowering plants in the family Asphodelaceae, first described as a genus in 1794. It is native to Africa.
Click here for more information on Kniphofia ‘Poco Orange’.
Outstanding as a specimen or in a large container. Very long-lived, durable and tolerant of a wide range of conditions. Easily distinguised from the other tall Molinias by being more erect. Description: cool season; clump forming.
Click here for more information on growing Molinia ‘Skyracer'.
Rhus aromatica, commonly called fragrant sumac, is a deciduous Missouri native shrub which occurs in open woods, glades and thickets throughout the State. A dense, low-growing, rambling shrub which spreads by root suckers to form thickets in the wild.
Click here for more information on Rhus aromatica ‘Gro-Low’.
Rhus glabra, commonly called smooth sumac, is a Missouri native, deciduous shrub which occurs on prairies, fields, abandoned farmland, clearings and along roads and railroads throughout the State. A large, open, irregular, spreading shrub which typically grows 8-15' tall and spreads by root suckers to form thickets or large colonies in the wild.
Click here for more information on Rhus glabra ‘Laciniata’.
A total breeding breakthrough, this is a remarkable Gloriosa Daisy selection that literally blooms for months on end. It forms a midsized mound, bearing large daisy heads with cherry-red petals surrounding a black eye. Absolutely fantastic in mixed containers or borders. Though not always reliably perennial, Gloriosa Daisies provide outstanding colour even in the first year so they are well worth growing even as an annual or biennial. Bred and introduced by British seedhouse Thompson and Morgan.
Click here for more information on Rudbeckia hirta ‘Cherry Brandy’.
Sporobolus heterolepis, commonly known as prairie dropseed, is a species of prairie grass native to the tallgrass and mixed grass prairies of central North America from Texas to southern Canada. Easily grown in average, dry to medium, well-drained soils in full sun. Tolerates wide range of soils, including heavy clays. Prefers dry, rocky soils. Good drought tolerance. Slow-growing and slow to establish. May be grown from seed but does not freely self-seed in the garden.
Click here for more information on Sporobolus heterolepis.
Best grown in acidic (pH of 4.8 to 5.2), organically rich, medium to wet, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. Shallow, fibrous roots need constant moisture and good drainage. Plants appreciate a good organic mulch. Although blueberries are self-fertile, cross-pollination produces the best fruit crop (larger berries and larger yields).
Click here for more information on Vaccinium ‘Bluecrop’.
It has lovely fine foliage like Amsonia hubrichtii and is a compact, well-branched and vigorous plant. In late summer it is covered with true purple flowers that attract plenty of butterflies. Found in rocky flood plains, Vernonia lettermannii is very tolerant of hot dry locations, yet can withstand brief periods of inundation.
Click here for more information on Vernonia lettermanii ‘Iron Butterfly’.