Perennials & Biennials

Showing 449–456 of 511 results

  • Solidago caesia syn. Solidago axillaris Blue-stemmed goldenrod, Wreath goldenrod Z 4-9

    Graceful, arching wands of clustered gold, with contrasting blue-green stems in September-October. One of the last perennials to bloom. Clump forming, noninvasive perennial.

    $12.95/bareroot

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    Graceful, arching wands of clustered gold, with contrasting blue-green stems, in September-October. Clump forming, noninvasive perennial.

    Size: 18-24” x 16-20”
    Care: part shade to shade in well-drained soil, drought tolerant
    Native: Nova Scotia to WI, south to FL and west to TX, Wisconsin native
    Wildlife Value: With both nectar and pollen this attracts, bees, wasps and flies. It is host to caterpillars of some moths.

    The Latin name is a combination of solidus and ago, meaning “I make whole”, referring to its historic medicinal uses. According to William Cullina it has antioxidant, diuretic, astringent and antifungal properties and was used to treat urinary tract and yeast infections, sore throats and diarrhea. (W. Cullina, NEWFS, p. 197) Named by Swedish botanist Linnaeus in 1753.

  • Solidago cutleri Cutler’s alpine goldenrod Z 3-9

    Golden tufts of flowers on this mounding, compact, bone-hardy goldenrod July-September

    $10.25/bareroot

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    Golden tufts of flowers  on this mounding, compact, bone-hardy goldenrod July-September

    Size: 6-10” x 12”
    Care: sun in well-drained to moist well-drained soil
    Native: Mountains of New England and NY, north through Nova Scotia
    Wildlife Value: attracts butterflies

    Named for New England plant explorer Manasseh Cutler , Rhodora 10(113): 87. 1908 by M.L. Fernald

  • Solidago riddellii syn. Oligoneuron riddellii Riddell’s goldenrod, Stiff goldenrod Z 3-7

    Sunshine yellow dome-topped flowers Sept.- Oct. Differs from S. gramnifolia by fewer leaves and its leaves fold toward the center vein.

    $12.95/bareroot

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    Sunshine yellow dome-topped flowers Sept.- Oct. Differs from S. gramnifolia by fewer leaves and its leaves fold toward the center vein.

    Size: 3’x2’
    Care: sun in moist to moist well-drained soil.
    Native: swath down middle of No. Am. From Hudson Bay to AK, incl. Wisconsin native
    Wildlife Value: Loved by butterflies for its nectar – Small copper, Monarch, Giant swallowtail, Gray hairstreak, Clouded Sulphur, Fritillary, Pearl crescent, & Cloudless sulphur. Attracts praying mantises. Resists deer.

    The name Solidago from solidus and ago meaning to bring together. First published by German botanist Joseph Frank who named it riddellii in honor of John Riddell who had collected it in Ohio before 1835.

  • Solidago speciosa Showy goldenrod Z 3-8

    Broad spikes of erect panicles of mustard yellow welcome late summer into autumn

    $12.95/bareroot

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    Broad spikes of erect panicles of mustard yellow welcome late summer into autumn

    Size: 3-5’ x 12-18”
    Care: Sun, any soil, stands up to wind, no staking needed
    Native: Central & eastern US, Wisconsin native
    Wildlife Value: Loved by butterflies for its nectar – Small copper, Monarch, Giant swallowtail, Gray hairstreak, Clouded Sulfur, Fritillary, Pearl crescent & Cloudless sulfur. Attracts praying mantises.

    Meskwaki applied an infusion made of roots to burns.  Chippewa used this plant for many things – to stop bleeding in the mouth and lungs, reduce pain from strains and sprains, as a stimulant and tonic and, mixed with bear grease, for a hair ointment. HoChunk and Winnebago made a blood purifier and remedied incontinence.  Collected by Thomas Nuttall, English planthunter (1786-1859) who wandered over all of No. America searching for plants, animals, birds and rocks from 1809 to 1842.

  • Spigelia marilandica Carolina pink, Woodland pinkroot Z 5-9

    Stems topped with showy red tubes and fireworks-like yellow, five-pointed stars flare  atop the tubes in  late spring to early summer  and later in the north.  Deadhead for rebloom

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    Stems topped with showy red tubes and fireworks-like yellow, five-pointed stars flare  atop the tubes in  late spring to early summer  and later in the north.  Deadhead for rebloom

    Size: 12-24” x 6-18”
    Care: part to full shade in moist to moist well-drained soil
    Native: NJ to Fl west to TX
    Wildlife Value: nectar for hummingbirds; deer resistant
    Awards: Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Gold Medal 2023

    Cherokee used this to purge parasites from intestines. In garden by 1753. Philip Miller’s Dictionary “the plant “is esteemed as the best medicine (in North America) yet known for the worms.” (1768)  According to Jacob Bigelow in American Medical Botany, 1817 one doctor used it as a purgative and another as a narcotic.

  • Stachys byzantina Lamb’s ears, Woolly betony, Wooly woundwort Z 4-8

    Pale pink-lavender flowers on silver-gray spikes in summer with foliage as soft as a lamb’s ear.

    $12.25/bareroot

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    Pale pink-lavender flowers on silver-gray spikes in summer with foliage as soft as a lamb’s ear.

    Size: 12 x 12 spreading
    Care: Full sun in moist well-drained to well-drained soil, low fertility
    Native: Iran
    Wildlife Value: Drought tolerant & deer resistant.

    Stachys is an old greek word meaning, “spike.” Stachys was believed to cure almost everything. Italians urged people to: “sell your coat and buy betony.” The common name “woundwort” describes the leaves’ function as bandages. Cultivated by George Washington at Mount Vernon.

  • Stachys minima syn. Stachys spathulata Dwarf betony Z 5-9

    Atop a mound of spatula-shaped, crinkled leaves with scalloped edges rises a bounty of 4 to 5 inch tall spikes, each crowned with a hoard of tiny fuchsia-colored trumpets blowing their horns “look at me” in early to mid-summer.

    $10.25/pot

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    Atop a mound of spatula-shaped, crinkled leaves with scalloped edges rises a bounty of 4 to 5 inch tall spikes, each crowned with a hoard of tiny fuchsia-colored trumpets blowing their horns “look at me” in early to mid-summer.

    Size: 4-8" x 8-12" spreading slowly by rhizomes
    Care: sun to part shade in moist well-drained soil
    Native: South Africa
    Wildlife Value: Deer resistant. Attracts small bees and butterflies

    English adventurer and naturalist William John Burchell (1781-1863) scoured South Africa from 1803 to 1815 collecting more than 50,000 specimens packed in 48 crates.  In places unexplored he found insects, animals, fish and unknown plants, this being one.  Although he published two volumes of his exploration, he did not finish the last, third volume, leaving another to write the botany.  Premier English botanist George Bentham (1800-1884) took up the task authoring Labiatarum Genera et Species, published in 1834.  He wrote the first published description and named this tiny plant with outsized charm.

  • Stachys officinalis syn. Betonica officinalis syn. Stachys betonica Bishop’s wort, Betony Z 4-8

    Showy reddish-purple spikes of two-lipped tubes in May and June

    $12.95/bareroot

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    Showy reddish-purple spikes of two-lipped tubes in May and June

    Size: 18-24” x 12-18” slowly spreading
    Care: sun in moist well-drained soil
    Native: Europe and Asia
    Wildlife Value: deer & walnut tolerant, attracts hummingbirds

    Once one of the most honored herbal medicines. Medicines were good if they had “as many virtues as Betony.” John Sauer, Colonial herbalist claimed “there is no illness brought on by cold in which Betony cannot be administered effectively.”