Plants for Butterflies and Other Pollinators

Showing 209–212 of 214 results

  • Veronica liwanensis Turkish speedwell Z 4-8

    Tiny true blue saucers smother the ground

    $8.25/pot

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    Tiny true blue saucers smother the ground in May & June – groundcover, front of border or rock garden plant.

    Size: 1” x 18” spreader over time
    Care: sun to part shade in moist well-drained to well-drained soil
    Native: NE Anatolia, Caucasus
    Wildlife Value: attracts butterflies
    Awards: 1997 Plant Select Winner.

    Collected before 1849.

  • Veronica officinalis Common speedwell Z 3-7

    Mat-forming perennial with spikes of blue flowers with darker blue stripes on the petals, May-August

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    OUT OF STOCK

    Mat-forming perennial with spikes of blue flowers with darker blue stripes on the petals, May-August

    Size: 4-12” x 6”
    Care: sun in dry, well-drained soil
    Native: Europe and Asia
    Wildlife Value: attracts bees

    Used in European traditional medicine as a cough remedy and tonic as well as a salve. Used for centuries as a cure-all medicinal as long ago as ancient Rome.

  • Veronica spicata Speedwell Z 4-8

    Blue spikes with a hint of lilac

    $10.95/bareroot

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    Blue spikes with a hint of lilac, bloom from June through October, if deadheaded

    Size: 24" x 18-24"
    Care: Sun in moist well-drained to well-drained soil
    Native: Hilly pastures in Europe and North Asia
    Wildlife Value: attracts butterflies

    According to Christian tradition, as Jesus carried the cross to Calvary a woman wiped his face with her handkerchief, leaving the imprint of Christ’s features, the vera iconica, meaning “the true likeness.”  When the Catholic Church canonized the woman, the Church gave her the name Saint Veronica.  Medieval gardeners named the plant after her due to a perceived likeness of the flower to her handkerchief.  Veronicas have been in cultivation since at least Medieval times.  Europeans made tea from V. spicata. In 1693 a symmetrical garden at Versailles used speedwell.  V. spicata is a parent to many hybrid cultivars.

  • Veronicastrum virginianum, Culver’s root Z 4-9

    Tall, graceful ivory spires

    $10.95/bareroot

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    Tall, graceful ivory spires bloom from mid to late summer

    Size: 4' x 18"
    Care: full sun to part shade in moist to moist well-drained soil
    Native: From Canada to Texas incl. Wisconsin native
    Wildlife Value: attracts butterflies

    Used by American Indians as a laxative and to induce vomiting and clean blood.  Cherokee cured typhus and inactive livers with Culver’s root. Remember Culver’s Little Liver pills? Seneca Indians used the root in their ceremonies. 1st collected by Rev. John Banister who moved to colonial Virginia in 1678.  A gunman mistakenly shot and killed him while he collected plants.   Colonial Puritan Cotton Mather unsuccessfully attempted to use this plant to cure his daughter’s tuberculosis in 1716.