Wisconsin Native
Showing 73–80 of 109 results
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Phlox divaricata Wild sweet William Z 3-8
lavender or white flowers in spring
lavender or white flowers in spring
Size: 14” x 20”
Care: part shade in moist, well-drained soil.
Native: Canada to New England, Wisconsin native
Wildlife Value: attracts hummingbirds
Awards: Received England’s Royal Horticultural Society Award of Merit.Phlox is Greek meaning “flame.” 1st introduced to gardens by John Bartram. Grown in American gardens since 1746. Recommended by Gertrude Jekyll, mother of mixed perennial borders, in 1908.
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Physotegia virginiana Obedient plant Z 3-9
Purplish red to rosy pink spikes of hooded snapdragons
OUT OF STOCK
Purplish red to rosy pink spikes of hooded snapdragons July to September
Size: 3' x 3' and spreading
Care: sun in moist to moist well-drained soil. Deer resistant and tolerates Walnut toxins
Native: Quebec to Manitoba, TX to GA, Wisconsin native
Wildlife Value: attracts hummingbirdsCollected before 1750. Called Obedient plant because if you push a flower it will remain in place temporarily – like a child who stays in the corner until you’re not looking.
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Podophyllum peltatum Mayapple, Hog apple, Mandrake Z 4-9
White waxy cups in spring. Ephemeral, dies back in summer.
White waxy cups in spring. Ephemeral, dies back in summer.
Size: 18" x 4' spreading by rhizomes
Care: moist well-drained soil in full to part shade.
Native: Quebec to Minnesota, south to Florida & Texas, Wisconsin nativeNamed for its leaves supposed resemblance to a duck’s foot (Anapodophyllum). Mayapple root used medicinally by Native Americans – for the Iroquois & Delaware as a laxative and purgative, to purify the body and expel worms. Cherokee and Menomonee made the root’s juice into insecticide to protect corn and potatoes from insects. Introduced to gardens in 1664. “Has whitish flowers, borne on erect stems bearing 2 one-sided leaves, the flowerless stems terminating in a large, round, 7 to 9 lobed leaf of umbrella-like shape, and being particularly attractive.” H.H. Thomas, 1915. You can hunt Morel mushrooms when Mayapples bloom.
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Polemonium reptans Greek valerian, Jacobs ladder Z 4-8
Cluster of light blue bell shaped blooms in May and June
Clusters of light blue bell shaped blooms in May and June
Size: 8-12” x 10”
Care: part shade in moist to moist well-drained soil, immune to Walnut toxins
Native: Ontario & Quebec to Alabama, west to MN & KS, Wisconsin nativeCollected for gardens before 1750. Meskwaki made a compound of roots as a physic and for urinary ailments.
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Polygonum virginianum syn. Persicaria virginiana Jumpseed Z 4-8
Arresting tiny white flowers atop nearly leafless stems blooming late summer into fall; dark green foliage marked with a maroon chevron on each leaf
Arresting tiny white flowers atop nearly leafless stems blooming late summer into fall;
dark green foliage marked with a maroon chevron on each leafSize: 2-3’ x 3-4’
Care: shade to part shade in moist to moist well-drained soil
Native: All eastern areas from central Canada south to Texas, Wisconsin native
Wildlife Value: attracts birds, bees & butterflies, Deer resistant
Size: Cherokee made a hot infusion of leaves with the bark of a Honey Locust to treat whooping cough.Linnaeus 1753.
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Potentilla tridentata syn. Sibbaldiopsis tridentate Three-toothed cinquefoil Z 2-8
short subshrub that blooms all summer, then in fall the leaves turn burgundy.
OUT OF STOCK
Compact subshrub groundcover with white five-petaled flowers June – August. Leaves turn burgundy in fall.
Size: 3-6” x 12-15”
Care: sun in well-drained, acidic soil
Native: most of eastern North America to the arctic, south to Georgia, WI native
Wildlife Value: source of food for Copper butterflies
Awards: Cary Award Distinctive Plants for New EnglandCollected before 1789.
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Pycanthemum virginianum Mountain mint Z 4-8
Corymbs of numerous white blossoms, leaves fragrant.
Corymbs of numerous white blossoms in August, leaves fragrant, like mint.
Size: 3' x 18"
Care: full sun to part shade in moist well-drained to well-drained soil
Native: Wisconsin native, Eastern U.S.
Wildlife Value: attracts butterfliesPycanthemum is Greek meaning “dense blossom.” Chippewa used it to stop menstrual flow, cure chills and fever and to season meat. The plant gave the Meskwaki energy and lured minks into traps.
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Ratibida pinnata Prairie coneflower Z 3-8
Skirt of drooping, sunny, thin petals surround erect brown cone on this fragrant flower, smelling of anise, June-August.
Skirt of drooping, sunny, thin petals surround erect brown cone on this fragrant flower, smelling of anise, June-August.
Size: 4' x 18"
Care: sun to part shade in any soil
Native: Ontario, VT to FL, SD to OK, incl. Wisconsin
Wildlife Value: Attracts butterflies. Birds eat seeds.Pinnata means “feathery” in Latin referring to the thin petals of the flower. 1st Americans cured toothaches with the root & made tea from the cone and leaves. Collected by French explorer Michaux on the prairies of Illinois in 1795.
