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 is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
rate this answer
Wednesday - April 13, 2011
From: Seneca, SC
Region: Southeast
Topic: Wildflowers
Title: Wildflowers blooming in upstate South Carolina from Seneca SC
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
When do most wildflowers bloom in upstate South Carolina?ANSWER:
We found the most wonderful website, Native (and Naturalized) Plants of the Carolinas, which has a number of links to geologic areas of South Carolina, like The Mountains, The Piedmont, The Fall-Line Sandhills, The Coastal Plains, and the Maritime Strand. Since Geography has never been our best subject, while we know Seneca is in the Northwest corner of South Carolina, we don't know what constitutes "upstate" South Carolina. Each of the headings listed above has several links under it. If you can determine what part of the state you are looking for, you will get some information on the wildflowers there. Notice the phrase "and naturalized" in the title of that website. The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is dedicated to the growth, protection and propagation of flowers native not only to North America but to the areas in which those plants are being grown, so those "naturalized" wildflowers are not going to be in our Native Plant Database. We found another website from the South Carolina Botanical Gardens, which appears to have a number of wildflower trails and information. You might also contact the Oconee County Chamber of Commerce, which probably has information on when people should plan to visit to see the wildflowers. And be sure to contact the Oconee County Extension Office, as they should have a list of Spring-blooming wildflowers for your area.
Now, let's look at a way for you to get specific blooming times for herbaceous blooming plants native to South Carolina. Go first to our Recommended Species section, click on South Carolina on the map, which will give you a list of 134 plants native to South Carolina, On the sidebar on the right-hand side of the page, select "herb" (herbaceous blooming plant) under General Appearance, and March, April and May under Bloom Times. This will give you a list of 24 blooming plants; they will not all be growing in "upstate" South Carolina, but perhaps you will have picked up enough information from the other sources to know which of those plants grow in your area. By referring to the USDA Plant Database, we found the following four which grow in the vicinity of Seneca. There are others, that's just all we checked on. Follow each plant link to our webpage on that plant to learn what its growing conditions are, what kind of sun and soil moisture it needs, propagation and other information.
Aquilegia canadensis (Eastern red columbine) - blooms red, pink, yellow February to July
Asclepias tuberosa (Butterflyweed) - blooms orange, yellow May to September
Coreopsis lanceolata (Lanceleaf coreopsis) - blooms yellow April to June
Oenothera fruticosa (Narrowleaf evening-primrose) - blooms yellow April to July
From our Native Plant Image Gallery:
More Wildflowers Questions
First flower of the year from Tallahassee FL
August 20, 2012 - Dear Mr. Smarty Plants,
What is the first wildflower to bloom in the North Florida area each year? I appreciate your knowledge and attention to all the questions you are asked.
view the full question and answer
Can Texas bluebonnets grow in Reynoldsburg Ohio?
May 03, 2010 - I am a transplanted Texan now living in Central Ohio. I am tired of having to accept only pictures of the bluebonnets growing along the highways in Texas now and want to know if the weather is suitab...
view the full question and answer
Invasiveness of native Viola sororia
June 13, 2007 - I live in Warwick, RI and have a section of my backyard overgrown with common blue violets. My husband and I would like to relocate them to a more scenic location if possible. The advice the cooperat...
view the full question and answer
Alternative names for Aquilegia Sanguinaria
May 03, 2006 - I am looking for the common name for a flower called Aquilegia Sanguinaria. Can you help? Does this even exist?
view the full question and answer
Sowing additional wildflower and grass seeds on steep hillside
January 30, 2006 - Mr. Smarty,
we recently moved to Hot Springs, AR. We have about a 1000 sf hillside area too steep to plant with shrubs etc. We had wildflower seeds scattered last May in this area and the flowers we...
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |