Frostweed flowers are nature's winter magic

Verbesina virginica has begun its flowering magic and I never tire of seeing it blooming on a cold morning.

Verbesina virginica/white crownbeard/wingstem is a valuable food sources for late pollinator visitors, so I've let it seed with some abandon in the wilder parts of the garden.

You can see capillary action in the above stem

Although, more common on the first frosty mornings of fall, here in my Middle Tennessee Zone 7 garden we have all the right ingredients for frostweed flowers to make their special appearance even in winter.

All that is needed is a warm winter day followed by a cold winter night. During the warm day, the Verbesina's roots draw water up into the stem and later that night freezing temperatures force the sap from the stems where they freeze into sculptural ice candy flower curls. The scientific term is capillary action, but

I think it's magic.

Verbesina's quirky magical winter behavior is just one of the many reasons it's a queen among the rough and tumble flowering natives in my garden. Bumble Bees love it. Green Metallic bees love it. Giant Carpenter Bees love it. Butterflies love it. In fact, it's an essential late summer/early fall nectar food for all visiting pollinators and it's an especially important food for  the Monarch Butterfly. It's has been selected for monitoring by Monarch Watch, an organization devoted to education, conservation and research about/for the Monarch Butterfly. It will always have a place in my garden.

I love its candy curls of ice, but, in the back of my mind are images of summer blooms and visiting pollinators.

xoxogail

I am posting this magical flower for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day! Stop by May Dreams Gardens to see what other gardeners are sharing for Bloom Day.

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

Frost Flower Seeds Winners

You're all winners...That's right, I am going to make sure you all get a packet of the best ever rough and tumble wildflower. Les, Sue, Garden Girl/Linda, Lisa/Greenbow, Becky, Jan, Patsy, Alison, Connie/Near Little River, Missing HenriMitchell, Liza Downey, Becki, and Ann contact me.

Verbesina virginica's rough and tumble bloom with Pokeweed

 I promise  that you won't be disappointed and your resident  pollinators will thank you! If I take a few seeds from each packet there's enough for each of you to have Verbesina virginica in your garden...forever. Please send me your mailing address, my email address is in the Welcome to my Garden on the sidebar.

When Frost Flower/Frostweed/Winstem blooms~pollinators show up!

Verbesina virginica self sows in my garden, but, I've begun scattering seeds here and there for their architectural and pollinator appeal. Plant them as soon as you get them to insure the seeds get at least a 30 day stretch of cold, moist conditioning. If there's snow on the ground you can mix them with sand and toss the mixture onto the snow or winter sow them in a container so you can keep an eye on them, then transplant where their height will best appreciated.

Frost Flower from many seasons back!

Happy Planting
xoxogail

PS It's Monday and that means I get to remind you that it's never, ever, ever, ever, ever, a good idea to use pesticides in your garden, especially if you want pollinator visitors.

More about Frost Flowers
An Almost Perfect Winter Flower
I Never Tire Of Seeing Frost Flowers
Frost Flowers Blooming In The Garden
Bees Don't Care If A Flower Is Beautiful
It's Rough and Tumble Wildflower Time



Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

Frost Flower Seed Giveaway

Dear Garden Bloggers, I've collected seeds from my Verbesina virginica and have 10 packets available to giveaway.

Frost Flower is one of the best of the  rough and tumble wildflowers that thrive in my garden. In case you've missed any of my posts extolling its virtues let me catch you up!

Verbesina virginica with its unusual white ray flowers is found on roadsides, woodlands and waste areas! It's a take care of itself plant that has enormous wildlife value for foraging pollinators  (carpenter, honey, bumbles and small tongued bees and butterflies) during late summer when gardens are winding down.  It’s such an important food source for Monarch Butterflies that it had been selected as a monitoring plant by Monarch Watch.

It really has a  lot going for it

1. rough and tumble good looks, 
2. it's a pollinator magnet
3. drought tolerant 
4. native species 
5. it magically makes ice flowers on cold and frosty mornings
6. Okay, it's not magic it's capillary action, but, I think that's magical.

It's a pretty spiffy wildflower.

One more thing! I need to tell you that I exercise just a wee bit of poetic license and call them Frost Flowers, but, when you look them up, you'll discover that they are commonly called Frostweed or Wingstem. What ever their name, they are a treat to see  in late summer and all fall when they're covered with pollinators or on a cold morning following a warm day when capillary action creates the ribbons of ice candy at the base of each stem.
xoxogail

Leave a comment and let me know if you're interested. If more than 10 people request seeds, then I will put all the names in a hat and Mr I will draw the winners and announce them here next Monday.

That's all you need to do...

Wonder if it will grow in your garden~Check out this map

I've written about Verbesina many times~It is after all a favorite of mine,  you can go to
An Almost Perfect Winter Flower here and  I Never Tire Of seeing Forst Flowers here

 Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.