Native Plants
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
rate this answer
Friday - December 24, 2010
From: Germantown, TN
Region: Southeast
Topic: Wildflowers
Title: Native wildflowers for Tennessee
Answered by: Marilyn Kircus and Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
Can you suggest some native wildflowers for west Tennessee and a source for seeds?ANSWER:
I began answering your question by going to the Wildflower Center's website and clicking on Explore Plants. Then I selected the Recommended Species topic and chose the state of Tennessee from the map. Here is a list of over 120 species of native plants recommended for Tennessee. You can narrow the list down to wildflowers by choosing 'Herb' under GENERAL APPEARANCE in the side bar NARROW YOUR SEARCH option.
Here are some suggested ones from that list that grow from seeds:
Coreopsis tinctoria (golden tickseed) Gaillardia pulchella (firewheel) Monarda citriodora (lemon beebalm) Rudbeckia hirta (blackeyed Susan) Echinacea purpurea (Eastern purple coneflower) Liatris punctata (Dotted blazing star) Monarda didyma (Scarlet beebalm) Asclepias tuberosa (Butterflyweed) Sources of seeds: You can go to our National Suppliers Directory where you will get a list of seed companies and nurseries that are registered as native plant sellers. I searched by Tennessee. Nashville Natives is listed as selling wildflower seeds but I can't see that they ship. You can contact them to learn if they do. Here is a link to American Meadows that sells southeastern wildflower seeds and Wildflower Farm sells Tennessee wildflower seeds. If you are just getting started you might enjoy reading the book, Gardening With the Native Plants of Tennessee, by Margie Hunter. Here are some photos from our Image Gallery:
More Wildflowers Questions
Transplanting wildflowers slated for destruction in Buda, TX.
June 16, 2015 - TXDOT has recently informed our church that they will be taking a sizeable amount of natural area fronting a ranch road for lane expansion. We are devastated to lose an are we have planted and nurtur...
view the full question and answer
Seeds for Fall bloom in Austin
May 31, 2010 - What seeds should I be planting now for fall blooms here in Austin?
view the full question and answer
Collecting seeds of Anemone berlandieri, windflower
March 29, 2010 - The recent rainy weather has produced a small colony of what I have identified from your web site as Anemone berlandieri Pritzel (Texas Anemone) in my backyard. Is there a way to harvest these seeds f...
view the full question and answer
Smarty Plants on earliest blooming wildflowers
November 19, 2004 - For Spring, what are the earliest blooming wild flowers and when do they typically bloom?
I know it's terribly early to be predicting these things, but any idea if the 2005 Bluebonnet crop in Austi...
view the full question and answer
Asters bloom period
April 16, 2005 - When do the asters bloom?
view the full question and answer
| Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |