information is needed, as thisdeveloping trend in landscapehorticulture gains momentumand interest.

For herbaceous perennials,the progression of plant charac-teristics through the seasons canbe important considerations.Seasonal bloom, foliage colorvariations and plant architecturethrough winter months may allcontribute to the effectiveness ofthe species in the garden. The

objectives of this study were todetermine the year-round land-scape potential of 60 selectedperennials native to theMidwestern United States and todocument their survival and per-formance under low-mainte-nance landscape conditions insouthwest Missouri.

THE EXPERIMENTA variety of horticultural data,

including size, shape, bloom peri-

od, season-long appearance, flowerand fruit characteristics, fall colorand survival was collected over sixgrowing seasons from 1995-2001 atthe University of Missouri-Columbia’s Southwest ResearchCenter near Mt. Vernon, Mo.

The site is flat and exposed tofull sun and strong southwesterlysummer winds. The soil is moder-ately well-drained. During thestudy, annual rainfall rangedfrom 371⁄2 inches in 2000 to ➧

Within thelast 10years, theinterest inusing native

plants for landscape purposeshas increased tremendously, andnurseries are struggling to keepup with the demand. Both urbanand rural gardeners are gradual-ly discovering the ornamentalpotential and benefits of theirindigenous flora. Much more

G R E E N G O O D S

By Andrew Thomasand Denny Schrock

Find out which native perennials are best for you to retail.

Top: Eupatoriaum coelestinum. Bottom left to right: Amorpha canescens; Eryngium yuccifolium; Phlox maculata; Baptisia australis. (Photos courtesy of USDA)

NATIVE PERENNIALS

Low-Maintenance

NATIVE PERENNIALS

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approximately 461⁄2 inches in1998, but the growing seasons of1995, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001were all considered drought yearsbecause of below-normal rainfallduring the growing season.

Maximum summer temperaturesranged from 95° F in 1997 to106° F in 2000, while minimumwinter temperatures ranged from-13° F in 1997 to 1° F in 1998.

Water-permeable weed barrier

fabric was anchored on top of theground over the assigned beds tosuppress weed growth. The youngplants were transplanted throughsmall holes cut into the weed bar-rier fabric, which was then covered

with a thin layer of wood chips.Once the plants were well estab-lished, no supplemental irrigationwas provided. Plants were neverfertilized. Top growth of all plantsremained in place until late win-ter, at which time it was cut backand removed. Otherwise, no prun-ing, shearing or staking of plantsoccurred. Insect and disease prob-lems were allowed to develop with-out intervention in order to evalu-ate each taxon’s attractiveness andresistance to pests.

No data were recorded duringthe establishment year. In subse-quent years, the following datawere collected: at full bloom —plant height, plant width, plantgrowth habit, primary and sec-ondary flower color, flower effec-tiveness and flower coverage; atfull fruit stage — fruit color, fruiteffectiveness, foliage color andfoliage texture/type. Length ofbloom, fruiting stages and fallfoliage color were also document-ed. Additional positive and nega-tive attributes were documented,such as fragrance, lodging,aggressiveness, attractiveness todesirable or beneficial fauna,insect pests and diseases. A plantquality rating documenting thespecies’ general attractivenessthroughout the season wasrecorded every two weeks fromApril through October each year.See Figure 1, right.

RESULTS ANDSUGGESTIONS

Many of the native plant taxain this study exhibited good toexcellent potential performancein a low-maintenance landscape ➧

G R E E N G O O D S

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Flower Season-long Taxon name effectiveness qualityAllium cernuum 3.3 3.4Amorpha canescens 3.7 3.6Amorpha nana 4.0 3.4Amsonia ciliata 4.0 3.6Amsonia illustris 3.7 3.9Aruncus dioicus 3.0 3.1Aster laevis 2.8 3.1Aster linariifolius 3.0 3.1Aster oblongifolius 4.0 3.6Baptisia australis 4.0 3.1Callirhoe bushii 3.8 2.6Callirhoe digitata 3.6 2.5Callirhoe involucrate 3.8 3.2Calylophus lavandulifolius 3.7 3.3Calylophus serrulatus 3.0 3.6Ceanothus americanus 3.0 3.7Coreopsis palmata 3.7 3.3Dalea purpurea 3.5 3.7Echinacea pallida 4.0 3.6Echinacea paradoxa 4.0 3.7Echinacea tennesseensis 3.8 3.7Eryngium yuccifolium 3.0 3.5Eupatorium coelestinum 3.7 3.7Filipendula rubra 2.5 2.5Gaura lindheimeri 3.3 3.7Genista tinctoria 4.0 3.4Geranium maculatum 2.5 1.8Geum triflorum 3.7 3.4Gillenia stipulata 2.6 2.6Heuchera richardsonii 1.3 2.8Lespedeza capitata 1.6 2.9Liatris aspera 4.0 2.9Liatris microcephala 2.3 3.6Liatris pycnostachya 4.0 3.8Melica nitens 3.0 3.0Monarda bradburiana 3.7 3.4Monarda punctata 3.7 3.0Penstemon campanulatus 3.5 2.9Penstemon cobaea 4.0 2.5Penstemon grandiflorus 3.0 2.1Penstemon pinifolius 2.7 3.0Penstemon tubaeflorus 4.0 3.1Phlox maculata 4.0 3.4Potentilla arguta 4.0 2.9Potentilla recta ‘Warrenii’ 4.0 3.1Pycnanthemum virginianum 3.7 3.4

Figure 1. Characteristics of 60 native perennials in response to a low-maintenance setting atthe University of Missouri’s Southwest Center, Mt. Vernon, Mo.

Ratibida columnifera.

F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 5 L A W N & G A R D E N R E T A I L E R 3 9

situation, while some were con-sistently less attractive or pos-sessed challenging characteristicsthat may require appropriatemanagement if they are to besuccessfully used.

The following taxon had highseason-long quality ratings, indi-cating an outstanding and overallpotentially useful plant.

Amorpha canescens, lead plant.Excellent, tough, small woodyshrub; attractive small grayishleaves and fruits with showy pur-ple flowers; brief bloom period;drought tolerant.

Amorpha nana, dwarf false indi-go. Excellent, very small woodyplant; compact form and shape;showy but small purple flowers;attractive fruits; drought tolerant.

Amsonia ciliata, fringed blues-tar. Beautiful, small plant; short-lived pale blue flowers in earlyspring; excellent shiny foliageretained nicely all summer;attractive golden yellow fall color;drought-tolerant.

Amsonia illustris, Ozarks bluestar. Excellent, beautiful, toughplant; brief pale blue flowers inearly spring; superb glossyfoliage remains attractive all sea-son; forms large sturdy non-woody “bush” with nice form;long thin seed pods add interest;attractive to aphids and stinkbugs but unharmed by them;excellent yellow fall color;drought tolerant.

Echinacea paradoxa, yellowconeflower. Attractive, large,erect plant with tall, stately form;bold yellow flowers leavingbehind large purplish-brownfruits (cones); drought tolerant,but leaves may become brownlate in season.

Echinacea tennesseensis, Tenn-essee coneflower. Tough, long-lived plant; much shorter thanother echinacea, with ray flowersnot recurved; beautiful soft pink-purple flowers with long bloomand continued sporadic bloomtime; drought tolerant, but rayflowers and leaves may turn brown.

Eryngium yuccifolium, rat-tlesnake master. Tall, coarse andunique plant that appears spinybut is nevertheless handsome;individual flowers are white butrather indistinguishable withininflorescence; attractive to butter-flies and other colorful insects;

interesting fruits dry andturn brown, remainingintact and uprightthrough winter; leavesoccasionally turn brown-ish in later summer.

Eupatorium coelest-inum, blue mist flower.Beautiful plant with niceshort form; unique deli-cate true blue flowers inlate summer/early fallwhen little else is bloom-ing; tends to seed aroundbut not aggressively;

G R E E N G O O D S

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Top: Penstemon cobaea; Middle: Potentilla recta;Bottom: Solidago Canadensis.

4 0 L A W N & G A R D E N R E T A I L E R F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 5

re-seeds and may not be a long-lived perennial; emerges very latein spring; wilts in drought but sur-vives and recovers nicely whenrain returns.

Phlox maculata, meadow phlox.Excellent, beautiful plant withnice, formal, erect form; spectac-ular pink purple flowers withlong bloom period and sporadicre-bloom; occasionally turnsbrown and unattractive indrought, although apparentlydrought tolerant as long-termsurvival has been excellent.

Ratibida columnifera ‘Red’,Mexican hat. Superb, tough plantthat blooms nearly all summer;spreads around but not weedy;interesting multi-colored red toorange to yellow cone-type com-posite flowers produced profuse-ly; grayish fruits attractive; maylodge but does not usuallydetract from appearance becauseplants grow together into masses;drought tolerant.

Ruellia humilis, fringeleaf wildpetunia. Nice, tough, short,resilient plant; small blue-laven-der flowers and dark fruits areindividually attractive but notparticularly effective overall;long bloom period; tends toseed around but is not weedy;drought tolerant but may brownin late summer.

Salvia azurea, azure blue sage.Large, sometimes disorderlyplant; spectacular, profuse deepblue flowers persist over longperiod in fall when little else isblooming; nice gray-greenfoliage; attractive to migratingmonarch butterflies and otherinsects; few fruits are produced orare insignificant; drought tolerantbut may wilt in extreme heat;excellent long-term survival.

The following taxon had somedistracting characteristic such assporadic dormancy, disorderlinessor unappealing infructescencesbut were nonetheless garden wor-thy. These plants would still have aplace in a low-maintenance gardenbut should have careful attentionpaid to placement and use.

Baptisia australis, blue wild indi-go. Plant habit is open andunique; stunning in bloom withprofuse racemes of deep blueflowers; interesting large seedpods turn from green to black

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and persist; drought tolerant butare often dry and turn black inlate summer, going dormant orsnapping off, but survive.

Callirhoe involucrate, purplepoppy mallow. Stunning, vigorous,tough plant that is highly recom-

plants appear sporadically but notaggressively; often becomes leggyand brownish in late summer whenit could be cut back; attractive newfoliage growth in fall.

Geum triflorum, prairie smoke.Unique, very short, generally ➧

mended; ground cover oftenspreading 3-5 feet; excellent brightfoliage through mid-summer; pro-fuse numbers of bright magenta-purple flowers with long bloomperiod and sporadic re-bloomthroughout much of summer; new

G R E E N G O O D S

F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 5 L A W N & G A R D E N R E T A I L E R 4 1

ant but stems lodge and foliagegenerally turns brown and unat-tractive in late summer; fallregrowth of foliage is attractive;very persistent.

Potentilla recta ‘Warrenii’, sul-phur cinquefoil. Showy smallplant with excellent form; massesof bright yellow flowers that per-sist and re-bloom over severalweeks, often blooming again inlate September; seed pods abun-dant and interesting; some newgreen foliage growth in fall;apparently drought tolerant butfoliage often turns brownish inlate summer while remainingattractive with dried seed pods.Native to Europe but naturalizedand common throughout theMidwestern United States.

Pycnanthemum virginianum,Virginia mountain mint. Nice, stur-dy, long-lived plant with excellentgray-green foliage; creamy-whiteflowers attractive to bumblebeesand butterflies; foliage and fruitsslightly fragrant; dried grayinfructescences attractive and per-sist through winter; drought toler-ant but may brown in late summer.

Sisyrinchiu idahoense, Idaho blue-eyedgrass. Small, attractive, usefulplant with deep green grass-likefoliage; spectacular dark purpleflowers with deep yellow centers aresmall but effective up close; couldbe used effectively as groundcoveror in masses; very persistent.

Solidago canadensis ‘GoldenBaby’, golden baby Canada golden-rod. Tough, reliable, short, multi-stemmed plant; large pale yellowinflorescences topping everybranch; flowers unevenly in mid-summer; gray infructescencesattractive and persistent; leavesremain green well into winter;drought tolerant and long-lived;nicest of our three solidagos.

Andrew Thomas is at the University ofMissouri-Columbia, Mt. Vernon, Mo., andDenny Schrock is with MeredithCorporation, Des Moines, Iowa. They canbe reached by phone at (417) 466-2148 orE-mail at thomasal@missouri.edu.

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evergreen plant; tends to form anon-spreading groundcover; veryearly, spectacular, delicate, feath-ery, pinkish flowers with showyred bracts; fruits not evident butflowers persist, and remain showy

long after bloom; foliage deepgreen with a touch of red or pur-ple throughout fall and winter;drought tolerant but may wilt orbrown if severe; very persistentand long-lived in the study.

Penstemon cobaea, cobaea beard-tongue. Short multi-stemmed plantwith glossy foliage; spectacularearly spring bloom with masses oflarge bluish-purple flowers thatattract bumblebees; drought toler-

G R E E N G O O D S

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