Native Plants

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Sunday - March 13, 2011

From: Voorheesville, NY
Region: Northeast
Topic: Wildflowers
Title: Zexmenia in upstate NY
Answered by: Anne Bossart

QUESTION:

Will zexmenia survive in upstate New York (Albany)?

ANSWER:

No, Wedelia texana (Zexmenia) is not a good plant choice for upstate New York. The only state where it is native is Texas (and only the west half of Texas, at that). Its native habitat is described in our native plant database as:

Fields & wood borders, Abundant on Edwards Plateau, Rio Grande Plains, less frequent in the Trans-Pecos and Southeast and North Central Texas. Well-drained sand, loam, clay, caliche, limestone.

There are a number of plants with yellow flowers that are similar in appearance to zexmenia that are native to NY and would be appropriate choices for you. If you visit our Native Plant Database and do a Combination Search selecting New York, herbaceous plant (or you can also search small shrubs), sunny, dry conditions and yellow blooms it will generate a list of plants to choose from. Each plant is linked to a detailed information page.

Here are a few from that list for you to consider:

Coreopsis lanceolata (Lanceleaf coreopsis)

Coreopsis verticillata (Threadleaf coreopsis)

Heliomeris multiflora var. multiflora (Showy false goldeneye)

Oenothera fruticosa ssp. glauca (Narrowleaf evening-primrose)

Rudbeckia hirta (Black-eyed susan)

Verbesina encelioides (Golden crownbeard)

If your soil is somewhat moist, you will have more choice.