Native Plants
![](../_images/smarty_plants.gif)
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.
![](../_images/mr_smarty_plants_logo_web_200w.jpg)
rate this answer
![](../_images/star_10.gif)
Friday - March 22, 2013
From: Asheville, NC
Region: Southeast
Topic: Planting, Seasonal Tasks, Herbs/Forbs, Wildflowers
Title: Schedule for planting perennial wildflowers from Asheville NC
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
When is the best time to plant perennial wildflowers?ANSWER:
The depends on where you garden and which perennial wildflowers you are interested in. The best way we know of to go about solving that problem is to go to our Native Plant Database and, using the Combination Search about the middle of that page, search on North Carolina for state, herbs (herbaceous blooming plants) for Habit, and perennial for Duration. You can follow each link to our webpage on that plant to find out its growing conditions, propagation suggestions, height, light requirements and see picures from our Image Gallery.When we searched that way, there were 991 plants that fit the specifications! So, we scanned through them looking for attractive wildflowers. You will note there were so many that we only got to "F", as they are listed alphabetically by scientific name.
Here is our list from that search:
Achillea millefolium (Common yarrow)
Antennaria plantaginifolia (Plantain-leaf pussytoes)
Aquilegia canadensis (Eastern red columbine)
Asclepias incarnata (Swamp milkweed)
Caltha palustris (Yellow marsh marigold)
Claytonia caroliniana (Carolina springbeauty)
Coreopsis auriculata (Lobed tickseed)
Commelina erecta (Whitemouth dayflower)
Dicentra cucullaria (Dutchman's breeches)
Doellingeria umbellata var. umbellata (Flat-top aster)
Erythronium americanum (Yellow trout-lily)
Fragaria virginiana (Virginia strawberry)
From HGTV, Best Time to Plant Perennials:
"Early fall is a good time to plant larger sizes of perennials (if they are available) because the weather is cool and reduces stress on the top parts of the plants. The soil also stays warm and allows the roots to grow, helping the plants to get established in the landscape. In the spring when the plants come out of dormancy, they should perform better than if they were planted in the spring and asked immediately to bloom (in addition to rooting and becoming established). Note that smaller-sized plants from small pots may not root deeply enough to avoid heaving during the freeze-thaw cycles. However, planting larger plants in fall generally works well."
So, you see, we were kind of playing around with you, because we already knew that. But, in the course of answering your question, we introduced you to our Native Plant Database and taught you how to use it to find information about any native plant you are interested in. One further tip, if you want to be sure the plant you are interested in is native to your specific area, where you can be a little more confident of the soils, climate and rainfall the plant will flourish in, go to the bottom of the plant webpage and click on the link to the USDA Plant Profile on that plant. First you will get a map of North America with all the states where that plant grows natively in green, click on your state (North Carolina) and you will get a map with the counties of that state in green where the plant is reported to grow.
From the Image Gallery
More Wildflowers Questions
School wildflower, native plant garden
October 23, 2007 - I am helping my daughter's third grade class plant a very small (about 5 ft. square) wildflower/native plant bed that is in full sun. I'm interested in flowering plants that bloom in the very early...
view the full question and answer
Native wildflowers attracting bees in Schulenberg TX
March 12, 2011 - What native wildflowers are honey bees attracted to?
view the full question and answer
What insect eats Alamo Fire blue bonnets from League City TX
June 10, 2013 - What insect eats Alamo Fire blue bonnets? Something seems to be eating new seedpods.
view the full question and answer
Native Plants for a Shaded Patio Container in Missouri
April 17, 2015 - What kind of native plants would grow well in a pot on a fully shaded patio? I live in Kansas City, Missouri. The patio faces north and doesn't get any direct sunlight, but it gets lots of indirect...
view the full question and answer
Signs designating wildflower areas
September 17, 2007 - I belong to a large homeowners association in Keller, TX. We've created a large wildflower area and need a sign to designate it. Where can I find wildflowers signs ? We want to alert residents to ...
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |