Seeds of Change: Connecting Laurel with Its Native Plants
If you joined us for our community event held at our newly renovated Farmer’s Market Lot (378 Main Street) on Saturday, April 22, 2023, Laurel staff were on hand to help teach about the importance of native plants, how to correctly plant your natives and hands-on experience by joining together to plant native plants at our Farmer’s Market Lot. Below are the native plants that were installed in the flower beds, as well as handed out, and color-coded to help you learn more about each plant and get you motivated to begin your spring planting! Look at the plant's title color-code to learn more about which plant you received!
10 Native Plants at Laurel's Earth Day Event:
Penstemon digitalis
Species Native to Missouri
Common Name: beardtongue
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Plantaginaceae
Native Range: Eastern and southeastern United States
Zone: 3 to 8
Height: 3.00 to 5.00 feet
Spread: 1.50 to 2.00 feet
Bloom Time: April to June
Bloom Description: White
Sun: Full sun
Water: Dry to medium
Maintenance: Medium
Suggested Use: Naturalize, Rain Garden
Flower: Showy, Good Cut
Attracts: Hummingbirds, Butterflies
Tolerate: Deer, Drought, Clay Soil, Dry Soil
Culture
Best grown in average, dry to medium moisture, well-drained soil in full sun. Tolerant of occasional drought and inundation once established. Can be grown in clay soils but avoid overly wet, poorly drained conditions.
Sisyrinchium angustifolium 'Lucerne'
Common Name: blue-eyed grass
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Iridaceae
Zone: 4 to 8
Height: 0.50 to 1.00 feet
Spread: 0.50 to 0.75 feet
Bloom Time: May to June
Bloom Description: Blue
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Medium
Flower: Showy
Culture
Best grown in medium moisture, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade. Prefers consistently moist soils that do not dry out, but drainage must be good. Will freely self-seed in optimum growing conditions. Plantings may be sheared back after bloom to avoid any unwanted self-seeding and/or to tidy foliage for remaining part of the growing season. Plants may need to be divided every 2-3 years to keep plantings vigorous.
‘Lucerne’ reportedly does not vigorously self-seed as species plants often do.
Baptisia australis
Species Native to Missouri
Common Name: blue false indigo
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Fabaceae
Native Range: Eastern United States
Zone: 3 to 9
Height: 3.00 to 4.00 feet
Spread: 3.00 to 4.00 feet
Bloom Time: May to June
Bloom Description: Indigo blue
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Dry to medium
Maintenance: Low
Suggested Use: Naturalize
Flower: Showy
Attracts: Butterflies
Fruit: Showy
Tolerate: Rabbit, Drought, Erosion, Clay Soil, Dry Soil, Shallow-Rocky Soil
Culture
Easily grown in average, dry to medium, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade. Best in full sun. Tolerates drought and poor soils. Over time, plants develop slowly expanding clumps with deep and extensive root systems, and should not be disturbed once established. May be grown from seed, but takes several years to establish. Plants take on more of a shrubby appearance and tend to open up after bloom. Trimming or shearing foliage after bloom helps maintain rounded plant appearance and obviates a possible need for staking, but eliminates the developing seed pods which are so attractive.
Phlox stolonifera 'Sherwood Purple'
Common Name: creeping phlox
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Polemoniaceae
Zone: 2 to 8
Height: 0.25 to 0.50 feet
Spread: 0.50 to 1.00 feet
Bloom Time: April to May
Bloom Description: Purplish blue
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Low
Suggested Use: Ground Cover, Naturalize
Flower: Showy
Attracts: Hummingbirds, Butterflies
Tolerate: Rabbit, Deer, Drought, Air Pollution
Culture
Best grown in humusy, medium moisture, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade. Good shade tolerance. Prefers acidic, rich, organic soils with continuous, even moisture. Species self-seeds in optimum growing conditions. Spreads by stolons to form large colonies in the wild as both the common and species names suggest.
Asclepias incarnata
Common Name: swamp milkweed
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Apocynaceae
Native Range: Northeastern and southeastern United States
Zone: 3 to 6
Height: 3.00 to 4.00 feet
Spread: 2.00 to 3.00 feet
Bloom Time: July to August
Bloom Description: White, pink, mauve
Sun: Full sun
Water: Medium to wet
Maintenance: Low
Suggested Use: Naturalize, Rain Garden
Flower: Showy, Fragrant
Attracts: Butterflies
Tolerate: Deer, Clay Soil, Wet Soil
Culture
Easily grown in medium to wet soils in full sun. Surprisingly tolerant of average well-drained soils in cultivation even though the species is native to swamps and wet meadows. Plants have deep taproots and are best left undisturbed once established. Foliage is slow to emerge in spring.
Allium cernuum
Common Name: nodding onion
Type: Bulb
Family: Amaryllidaceae
Native Range: Canada to Mexico
Zone: 4 to 8
Height: 1.00 to 1.50 feet
Spread: 0.25 to 0.50 feet
Bloom Time: June to August
Bloom Description: Pink
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Dry to medium
Maintenance: Low
Suggested Use: Naturalize
Flower: Showy
Leaf: Fragrant
Attracts: Butterflies
Tolerate: Deer, Drought, Dry Soil, Shallow-Rocky Soil, Black Walnut
Culture
Easily grown in average, dry to medium, well-drained soil in full sun to light shade. Best in full sun, but appreciates some light afternoon shade in hot summer climates. Best in sandy loams. Plants will naturalize by self-seeding and bulb offsets in optimum growing conditions. Deadhead flowers before seed sets to help control any unwanted spread. Foliage persists past flowering into late summer before dying back. Plants are easily grown from seed which should be planted in spring or from bulbs/bulb offsets which should be planted in autumn.
Chasmanthium latifolium
Secies Native to Missouri
Common Name: northern sea oats
Type: Ornamental grass
Family: Poaceae
Native Range: Eastern United States, northern Mexico
Zone: 3 to 8
Height: 2.00 to 5.00 feet
Spread: 1.00 to 2.50 feet
Bloom Time: August to September
Bloom Description: Green
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium to wet
Maintenance: Low
Suggested Use: Naturalize
Flower: Showy, Good Cut, Good Dried
Leaf: Good Fall
Other: Winter Interest
Tolerate: Black Walnut
Culture
Easily grown in average, medium to wet, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade. Tolerant of poor soils, but prefers moist, fertile soils. One of the more shade tolerant of the ornamental grasses. Self-seeds and may spread aggressively. Leaving foliage in place over winter adds interest to the landscape and helps protect crowns from the cold. Cut back to the ground in early spring.
Mertensia virginica
Common Name: Virginia bluebells
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Boraginaceae
Native Range: North America
Zone: 3 to 8
Height: 1.50 to 2.00 feet
Spread: 1.00 to 1.50 feet
Bloom Time: March to April
Bloom Description: Blue
Sun: Part shade to full shade
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Medium
Flower: Showy
Tolerate: Rabbit, Black Walnut
Garden locations
Culture
Easily grown in average, medium, well-drained soils in part shade to full shade. Prefers moist, rich soils.
Aquilegia canadensis
Common Name: columbine
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Ranunculaceae
Native Range: Eastern North America
Zone: 3 to 8
Height: 2.00 to 3.00 feet
Spread: 1.00 to 1.50 feet
Bloom Time: April to May
Bloom Description: Light pink/yellow to blood red/yellow
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Medium
Suggested Use: Naturalize
Flower: Showy, Good Cut
Attracts: Hummingbirds
Tolerate: Rabbit, Deer, Drought, Dry Soil
Culture
Easily grown in average, medium, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade. Wide range of soil tolerance as long as drainage is good. Prefers rich, moist soils in light to moderate shade. Freely self-seeds and will naturalize to form large colonies in optimum growing conditions. Remove flowering stems after bloom to encourage additional bloom. Keep soils uniformly moist after bloom to prolong attractive foliage appearance. When foliage depreciates, plants may be cut to the ground.
Packera aurea
Common Name: golden ragwort
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Asteraceae
Native Range: Eastern North America to Texas
Zone: 3 to 8
Height: 0.50 to 2.50 feet
Spread: 0.50 to 1.50 feet
Bloom Time: April
Bloom Description: Yellow
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium to wet
Maintenance: Medium
Suggested Use: Ground Cover, Naturalize, Rain Garden
Flower: Showy
Attracts: Butterflies
Tolerate: Wet Soil
Culture
Easily grown in average, medium to wet soils in full sun to part shade. Blooms well in shady locations. Soils should not be allowed to dry out. Freely self-seeds and is easily grown from seed. Naturalizes into large colonies in optimum growing conditions. Remove flowering stems after bloom/seed dispersal. Basal foliage will serve as an attractive ground cover throughout the growing season as long as consistent moisture is provided. Basal foliage is essentially evergreen in mild St. Louis winters, but foliage decline will occur in harsh winters.
