White Snakeroot features white fluffy flowers in a flattish cluster similar to a miniature Joe-Pye Weed. It grows in a wide variety of conditions and regions, and correspondingly large numbers of insects coevolved to depend on it. White Snakeroot makes an excellent choice for that hard to grow spot whether it’s because it’s too shady or the soil is too poor.
Slightly arching bloom spikes create comets of yellow microflowers worthy of a closer look through a hand lens. Leaves are fern-like and soft and fuzzy underneath, they look as though a velveteen rabbit and a T-rex had a baby.
A bunchgrass which can reach 4 feet in height. Ribbon-like leaves are often purplish and the silvery-white seed tufts are borne in yellow bracts along the stem. Mature plants are 6-12 inches in diameter. Features ornamental silvery blue-green warm-season foliage turning copper, red, and bronze in the fall.
Species/Latin Name
Asclepias syriaca
Common Name
Common Milkweed
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Height
3 – 5 feet
Light Requirement
4 – 16 hours
Moisture
Dry to Moist
Soil Type
Poor to Average
Bloom Time
June to August
Bloom Color
Grandma’s bath tile mauve
# of Seeds Per Packet
100
Description
Large balls of pink-purple flowers of this perennial herb emit a euphoric, over-the-top fragrance. Providing food and habitat for a large number of pollinators, Common Milkweed is the most ubiquitous milkweed on the East Coast, making it a dependable garden staple.
An annual/biennial that produces golden yellow daisy-like flower heads on top of slender stems with saw-toothed leaves. It produces lightly clinging barbed seeds that can hitch a ride on clothing and animal fur in the fall. Although commonly called Swamp Marigold, this plant will thrive in dry spaces as well.
Species/Latin Name
Chamaecrista fasciculata (formerly Cassia chamaecrista and Cassia fasciculata)
A slender-stemmed, annual/biennial legume with delicately fern-like leaves bearing small chartreuse “sensitive” leaflets which fold together when touched. Large, showy, buttercup-like yellow flowers arise from leaf axils, giving way to flat, narrow seed pods that start green and mature brown in fall before splitting and explosively releasing the seeds within.
Latin Name
Chrysopsis mariana (formerly Heterotheca mariana)
Common Name
Maryland Goldenaster
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Height
12 – 18 inches
Light Requirement
3 – 16 hours
Moisture
Dry to Average
Soil Type
Poor to Average
Bloom Time
September to November
Bloom Color
Yellow
# of Seeds Per Packet
40
Description
Maryland Goldenaster begins as tidy clumps of low rosettes of basal leaves that give rise to stout flowering branches topped with bright yellow daisy-like flowers in late summer. Young, silvery wooly foliage sparkles in the sunlight while endowing it with heat and drought tolerance. The mature seeds are a unique orange-golden brown. An urban garden essential!
Blue Mistflower, Hardy Ageratum, Wild Ageratum, Blue Boneset
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Height
1 – 2 feet
Light Requirement
1 ½ – 16 hours
Moisture
Dry to Moist
Soil Type
Poor to Rich, loose soil preferred
Bloom Time
August to October
Bloom Color
Lavender to cornflower blue
# of Seeds Per Packet
100
Description
Fluffy flowers feature tiny ribbon-like petals that evoke the appearance of sea anemones. The slightly domed flower-clusters top dense, compact foliage.
Species/Latin Name
Desmodium canadense
Common Name
Tick Trefoil, Showy Tick Trefoil
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Height
18 – 24 inches
Light Requirement
3 – 16 hours
Moisture
Dry to Average
Soil Type
Poor to Rich
Bloom Time
July to September
Bloom Color
Pink to purple
# of Seeds Per Packet
50
Description
Rosy purple pea-like flowers crowd around elongated terminal clusters atop velvety-haired stems. The entire plant is somewhat bushy, and is attractive in colonies. This legume is nitrogen-fixing, and uses its hairy seed pods to catch a ride with passing humans and mammals.
Species/Latin Name
Eupatorium serotinum
Common Names
Late Boneset, Late Thoroughwort
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Height
3 – 5 feet
Light Requirement
3 – 16 hours
Moisture
Dry to Moist
Soil Type
Poor to Rich; Sand, loam, or clay
Bloom Time
July to October
Bloom Color
White
# of Seeds Per Packet
150
Description
Eupatorium serotinum tends to grow taller than other bonesets, and features long-stemmed, coarse-toothed leaves and dense, white flower heads. The stems of Late Boneset have tiny white hairs running the length of the stem. The small white flowers are popular with a wide variety of bees, flies, butterflies and beetles.
A rhizomatous perennial herb that spreads aggressively. Its smaller, more numerous yellow flowers, narrow leaves, and bushier tops help distinguish Flat-top Goldenrod from other goldenrods. Not suitable for containers: it’s a pot-buster!
Species/Latin Name
Eutrochium fistulosum
Common Names
Hollow Joe-Pye Weed, Trumpetweed, Queen Of The Meadow
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Height
5 – 8 feet
Light Requirement
2 – 16 hours; prefers partial sun, but will grow well with as little as 2 hours of direct sunlight and up to 10 hours of direct sun.
Moisture
Below Average to Wet
Soil Type
Average to Rich
Bloom Time
July to September
Bloom Color
Pink to Purplish-mauve
# of Seeds Per Packet
150
Description
A robust, upright perennial that grows tall with hollow purple stems topped by huge, rounded, tight clusters of pink or purplish-mauve flowers. Colors deepen as the weather cools.
Species/Latin Name
Eutrochium maculatum
Common Name
Spotted Joe-Pye Weed
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Height
3 – 5 feet
Light Requirement
4 – 16 hours
Moisture
Below Average to Wet
Soil Type
Average to Rich
Bloom Time
July to September
Bloom Color
Rosy purple
# of Seeds Per Packet
50
Description
Umbrellas of rosy-purple flower clusters top purple-spotted, finely haired, tall and stout stems that are surrounded by whorls of serrated, bright green leaves.
Species/Latin Name
Ludwigia alternifolia
Common Names
Seedbox, Rattlebox
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Height
1 ½ – 5 feet
Light Requirement
3 – 16 hours; Full sun to part-shade
Moisture
Below Average to Saturated
Soil Type
Poor to Rich; acidic sandy soil (<6.0 pH)
Bloom Time
June to March
Bloom Color
Yellow
# of Seeds Per Packet
300
Description
Seedbox has reddish-tinged stems clad with lance-shaped, deep green leaves with bright yellow flowers that bloom from June to August. Flowers give way to fruits which eventually become seed capsules that split open when ripe to release numerous seeds. Its common name is in reference to the interesting box-like seed capsules which rattle when shaken.
Species/Latin Name
Oenothera biennis
Common Names
Common Evening Primrose, Evening Star, Sundrop
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Height
1 ½ – 5 feet
Light Requirement
3 – 16 hours
Moisture
Dry to Average; medium moisture
Soil Type
Poor to Average
Bloom Time
June to November (late spring to late summer)
Bloom Color
Yellow
# of Seeds Per Packet
200
Description
Ephemeral, lemon-scented, large yellow flowers on a tall bloom spike top a hairy and often purple-tinged stem surrounded by feathery leaves. The flowers open visibly fast every evening and only last until the following noon. Accordingly, this interesting spectacle is the reason for the common name “evening primrose”. * Biennial
Species/Latin Name
Panicum anceps (formerly Panicum rhizomatum, Panicum anceps var. rhizomatum)
Common Name
Beaked Panicum Grass
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Height
1 ½ – 3 ½ feet
Light Requirement
2 – 16 hours; open forest dappled light to full sun
Moisture
Dry to Average
Soil Type
Poor to Average; coarse, dry, sand. An excellent no-till plant and also a bio driller.
Bloom Time
June to November
Bloom Color
White, light green
# of Seeds Per Packet
150
Description
A clump-forming, rhizomatous perennial grass with slender, hollow, erect stems and tiny, branched, light green inflorescences. It has wide blades with bright green centers and bronze edges. Produces an abundant amount of seeds in the fall.
Species/Latin Name
Persicaria virginiana (formerly Polygonum virginianum or Tovara virginiana)
Common Names
Jumpseed, Virginia Knotweed, Woodland Knotweed
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Height
2 – 3 feet
Light Requirement
2 – 16 hours; full sun to part shade
Moisture
Dry to Moist
Soil Type
Poor to Average
Bloom Time
August to September (mid to late summer)
Bloom Color
White to greenish-white, rarely pink
# of Seeds Per Packet
50
Description
A vigorous perennial forming a spreading foliage mound about 2-3 feet tall and wide. Tiny greenish white flowers dot long, slender, arching stems amid broad, oval, medium green leaves.
Species/Latin Name
Prunella vulgaris
Common Names
Self Heal, Heal-all, Woundwort, Heart-of-the-earth, Carpenter’s Herb, Brownwort or Blue Curls
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Height
2 – 10 inches
Light Requirement
2 – 14 hours; full sun to part shade
Moisture
Dry to Wet
Soil Type
Poor to Rich
Bloom Time
June to November
Bloom Color
White to light-purple
# of Seeds Per Packet
100
Description
A low-growing perennial that is easily recognized by the many-flowered terminal spike erupting from the square stem covered in overlapping bracts. The small, white to light-purple, violet-like flowers surround the bottom of the terminal spike, the top of which continues to elongate after flowering.
Species/Latin Name
Rhexia virginica
Common Names
Virginia Meadow Beauty, Handsome-harry, Meadow-beauty, Meadow Pitchers
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Height
1 – 2 feet
Light Requirement
3 – 16 hours; part shade
Moisture
Average to Wet
Soil Type
Average to Rich; wet peat or sandy, acid soils
Bloom Time
June to October
Bloom Color
Rose-pink to purplish
# of Seeds Per Packet
200
Description
Virginia Meadow Beauty features showy rosy to purplish pink flowers with four round petals surrounding bright yellow curved anthers. A temperate member of the tropical Melastomataceae family, it adds a burst of color to wet meadows and marshy areas.
Species/Latin Name
Rudbeckia hirta
Common Names
Black-Eyed Susan
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Height
2 – 3 feet
Light Requirement
4 – 16 hours; full sun
Moisture
Dry to Below Average
Soil Type
Poor to Average; well-drained slightly acidic soil (<6.8 pH)
Bloom Time
June to November
Bloom Color
Yellow
# of Seeds Per Packet
125
Description
A biennial opportunist that thrives easily in most disturbed areas. Flat yellow daisy-like flowers with a brown-black central cone made up of tiny disco flowers top vertical coarse stems with rough hairy leaves
Species/Latin Name
Solidago juncea
Common Names
Early Goldenrod
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Height
2 – 4 feet
Light Requirement
4 – 16 hours
Moisture
Below Average to Average
Soil Type
Very Poor to Rich
Bloom/Interest Time
June to February
Bloom Color
Yellow
# of Seeds Per Packet
150
Description
Grows into an arching fireworks display of dense, yellow flower clusters along arching panicles branching from a long, sometimes hairy main stem. Leaves are bright green and vary from lanceolate to ovate in shape. The earliest of the goldenrods to bloom, Early Goldenrod graces meadows and gardens with very mild fragrance.
Species/Latin Name
Solidago rugosa
Common Names
Wrinkleleaf Goldenrod, Rough-leaved Goldenrod and Rough-stemmed Goldenrod
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Height
2 – 6 feet
Light Requirement
1 – 16 hours
Moisture
Dry to Moist
Soil Type
Poor to Rich
Bloom Time
August to October
Bloom Color
Light yellow
# Seeds Per Packet
150
Description
Wrinkleleaf Goldenrod features thin sprays of arching flowering stems with small, light yellow flower heads that occur atop sturdy, erect stems with numerous rough toothed leaves.
Species/Latin Name
Symphyotrichum ericoides/lanceolatum/pilosum Mix
Common Name
White Field Aster Mix
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Height
2 – 5 feet
Light Requirement
3 – 16 hours
Moisture
Dry to Wet
Soil Type
Poor to Rich
Bloom Time
August to October
Bloom Color
White
# of Seeds Per Packet
150
Description
Support late-season pollinators with a field dotted with tiny, daisy-like flowers. This mix of three species of native asters are varying heights which create rolling waves of dark green leaves dotted with small white flowers with yellow discs.
An herbaceous, somewhat bushy perennial with light green or reddish brown stems with lines of white hairs. Several small flower heads of white or pale purple ray flowers surround colorful central discs and tend to grow on only one side of the plant. The central disks change from yellow to reddish purple as they age, often creating a wide variety of color along a single branch. The narrow, dark green, lanceolate leaves turn coppery in late summer.
Species/Latin Name
Tridens flavus
Common Names
Purpletop, Grease Grass, Redtop
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Height
2 ½ – 4 feet
Light Requirement
3 – 16 hours
Moisture
Dry to Average
Soil Type
Below Average to Rich
Bloom Time
August to November
Bloom Color
Reddish-purple
# of Seeds Per Packet
150
Description
A perennial warm-season grass with drooping branches bearing widely spaced reddish-purple spikelets. When grown in mass, Purpletop lives up to its name, creating a layer of purple effervescence atop fields and open woods.
Species/Latin Name
Verbena urticifolia
Common Name
White Vervain
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Height
3 – 5 feet
Light Requirement
2 – 16 hours
Moisture
Dry to Average
Soil Type
Below Average to Rich; fertile loam, clay-loam, or silt-loam
Bloom Time
June to October
Bloom Color
White
# of Seeds Per Packet
50
Description
A short-lived perennial (can be annual or biennial) with small white flowers borne on slender, branching spikes which elongate as the plant matures. It has opposite, toothed leaves, similar to those of the nettle, on thin, rigid stems.
Species/Latin Name
Verbesina alternifolia (formerly known as Actinomeris alternifolia)
Common Name
Wingstem
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Height
3 – 8 feet
Light Requirement
2 – 16 hours; part sun to mottled shade
Moisture
Dry to Moist; although a slightly wetter situation is better, this plant will tolerate some variance in moisture levels.
Soil Type
Below Average to Rich
Bloom Time
July to October
Bloom Color
Yellow
# of Seeds Per Packet
40
Description
A tall perennial with pincushion-like flower heads with yellow petals flaring down and outwards. Wingstem is named for the fanning leaf tissue that continues from the base of the leaf along the length of the stem.
Species/Latin Name
Vernonia noveboracensis
Common Name
New York Ironweed
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Height
3 – 6 feet
Light Requirement
3 – 16 hours; full sun
Moisture
Dry to Wet
Soil Type
Below Average to Rich; tolerates a wide range of soils, but prefers rich, moist, slightly acidic soils.
Bloom Time
August to September (late summer into fall)
Bloom Color
Deep purple
# of Seeds Per Packet
150
Description
A tall, coarse, upright perennial that features numerous tiny, fluffy, deep purple composite flowers with alternate-leaved stems. New York Ironweed is somewhat suggestive of Joe-Pye Weed, and its “iron-like” qualities refer to its tough stems, rust-colored seeds, and the rusty tinge of its flowers as they fade.
Species/Latin Name
Vitis riparia
Common Names
River Grape, Riverbank Grape, Frost Grape, Fox Grape, Northern Fox Grape, Plum Grape, Northern Muscadine, Swamp Grape, Wild Vine
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Height
climbs 35 feet or more
Light Requirement
3 – 16 hours
Moisture
Dry to Saturated
Soil Type
Poor to Rich
Bloom Time
Apr to June
Bloom Color
White, yellow, green, brown
# of Seeds Per Packet
25
Description
River Grape is a fast-growing climbing vine that grows 35 feet or more. This long-lived woody perennial uses tendrils to climb up tree trunks into the canopy, and its vine features peeling, burgundy-colored bark. Heart-shaped, toothy, leaves showcase tiny clusters of sweetly scented yellow-greenish flowers that become bluish-black drupes in late summer and fall.
