Wildflower Wednesday: Verbesina virginica

It's rough and tumble wildflower time in my garden and that makes me happy. The take care of themselves Autumn beauties are shining.

Rough and tumble wildflowers are simple wildflowers that bloom their hearts out and require the easiest of care. Verbesina virginica is one of the best and it deserves to be a Wildflower Wednesday star every fall, but, especially this year, because it has survived to bloom beautifully despite our severe drought.

And when it blooms, it's a magnet for all kinds of insects. Especially bumblebees. They're out every morning and will be there every day until the flowers have gone to seed. But, going to seed is not the end of all this flower has to offer.

I wasn't always so crazy about Frostweed.  I first saw it growing in the wayback backyard~behind the Garden Of Benign Neglect. I decided to watch for a season to see what it could be. That was one of my best gardening decisions.

 

 It's a stately queen among the rough and tumble flowering natives in my garden. This tall Asteraceae family member (can reach 6 or more feet) is a plant that most of us wouldn't give a second look. At least not until it bloomed along with the other Autumn beauties. Plant it with Phytolacca americana/Pokeweed,  Solidago/Goldenrods, Rudbeckia triloba/Brown-eyed Susan, Vernonia/Ironweed, Oenothera biennis/Evening primrose and Silphium perfoliatum/Cup plants. I will always have a special place in my heart for these wild and rough looking beauties.

 

As I wrote earlier, rough and tumble wildflowers are simple wildflowers that bloom their hearts out and require the easiest of care. What I especially love is that they haven't had their best characteristic bred out of them. They are so much more than pretty faces, they're landing pads of deliciousness for butterflies, bees, wasps and moths. They bloom just in time for the late arriving pollinators which are making a mad dash to collect as much nectar and pollen for their last brood.

Frostweed is a late blooming magnet for all kinds of insects, including those insects that are themselves food for spiders, birds and other insect eating critters.

Bumble Bees love it. Green Metallic bees love it. Giant Carpenter Bees love it. Butterflies love it. Skippers love it. Hoverflies love it. Soldier beetles love it. Hummingbirds 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.

Verbesina virginica's flowers have a petal here and a petal there, but, that matters not to a bees and other pollinators.

It's a native herbaceous biennial/perennial in the Asteraceae/Sunflower family. It has clusters of white ray florets and white disk florets with noticeably contrasting purplish-black anthers. 

Its leaves are dark green with rough surfaces and toothed margins and are oppositely arranged.

Its stem has distinctive wings running along its length leading to one of it's common names, wingstem. If you live in its native range, you've probably seen it along roadways or in natural areas and parks. It can be found on streams and river banks, bluff bases, bottomland and upland forests, pastures, railroads, roadsides, prairies, and in forest openings. It can be found all over my neighborhood where ever birds have transpooped the seeds. It is most common in areas with neutral or basic soils (Soil which is in the range from slightly acid to slightly alkaline) .

Frostweed is a robust spreader. Seedlings germinate far from the parent plants thanks to wind and birds! It self sows in my garden (I have to thin it out), but, I've begun scattering seeds here and there for their architectural and pollinator appeal. If you have seeds, 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. 

Verbesina virginica has a lot going for it:

• It blooms exactly when bees are provisioning a nest for the winter. 
• It has a long bloom time (late July to October) 
• Pollinators love it, especially bumblebees
  
• Provides seed for migrating birds
• It's a feeding station for over-wintering birds
• It's a  host plant for the caterpillars of Summer Azure, Bordered Patch, and the Silvery Checkerspot butterfly
• Great architectural appeal (6 feet tall)
  
• The Chelsea chop in June will keep it shorter
  
• Drought tolerant when established
• Not particular about soils
• Not eaten by deer or rabbits
• Frostweed flowers are a winter bonus!

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

 Imagine a beautiful late fall day; it's warm and the sun is shining. The Verbesina's roots draw water up into the stem and late that night when the temperatures drop well below freezing, the stems freeze, split open, emitting plant juices, which immediately freeze into ribbons of ice that curl around the stem and the base of the plant!

 It's magic! Well actually the scientific term is capillary action.

Isn't nature grand!

Everyday there is something of the marvelous to behold.

Frost flowers will continue to form as long as the temperatures are cold and the plant juices are flowing.

You've got to get this plant in your garden!

The Particulars

Family: Asteraceae

Common names: White crownbeard, White wingstem, Frostweed, Iceplant, Iceweed, Virginia Crownbeard, Indian Tobacco, Richweed, Squawweed

Native Range: Pennsylvania west to central Texas, south to Florida

Habitat: White Crownbeard occurs in prairies, in pastures, in forest openings, along streams, and on roadsides. It is most common in areas with neutral or basic soils.

Size: The stems are 3-8 feet in height and unbranched below the inflorescence. They have winged internodes, and are pubescent. The wings that make them easily identifiable

Bloom: Flowers are produced in heads. The heads are arranged in corymbs. Each head has 1-7 white ray flowers and 8-15 off-white disc flowers.

Bloom time: Late July–October.

Sun: Full sun, half sun, and, even fairly shady sites.

Water: Moist to dry

Maintenance: Weeding and editing, plants can become weedy, spreading by seed and from rhizomes.

Propagation: The fruit is a winged achene with two small bristles at its apex. Best planted from seed or if in a natural area allowed to self sow. Seed dispersal is by wind, animal or flowing water

Wildlife Value: Over wintering birds eat the seeds. 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.

Comments: Best in natural garden, along pond edge or if well managed in the background of a butterfly garden. This plant is called "frostweed" because it often forms spectacular "frost flowers" in the fall, when a sudden overnight freeze causes the stems to burst and release sap.

I adore this plant, but, I also weed it ruthlessly if it's crowding other more delicate plants. I can't imagine Clay and Limestone without Frostweed and the other rough and tumble beauties. Local gardeners, let me know if you want seeds, I'll have extras for sure.

xoxogail

Thank you for stopping by and welcome to Clay and Limestone's Wildflower Wednesday celebration. WW is about sharing and celebrating wildflowers from all over this great big, beautiful world. Join us on the fourth Wednesday of each month. Remember, it doesn't matter if your wildflower is in bloom or not; and, it doesn't matter if we all share the same plants. It's all about celebrating wildflowers. If you participate in WW, please leave a link.

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.

2023 Wildflower Wednesday Roundup

Hypericum frondosum's color is still happening in the garden

I love gardening in the Middle South, but, this has been an especially challenging year. Droughts are a regular occurrence in Tennessee’s climate, but, the one we experienced throughout the late summer and fall has been devastating. I fear for shrubs and trees and wonder if I will see the real loss when spring rolls around in 2024. Climatologists have said, "Expect extreme weather patterns." and we've had them. Fortunately we haven't had an extreme Arctic freeze like December 2022. None the less, we are fortunate to have four seasons in the middle south; a mercifully short winter and a delightful spring and autumn which make up for the steamy hot and often too dry summer weather. The days are starting to lengthen and before long the earliest spring ephemerals will break dormancy and the gloriously long bloom of wildflowers will begin. 

Here's the Wildflower Wednesday Roundup.  Please follow the links to read about our glorious wildflower stars. xoxogail 

 January 2023: Hamamelis vernalis and A Wildflower Wednesday Challenge

 

I've decided to continue the WW Challenge into 2023 and beyond. It's a call for doing at least one thing a month to support nature/garden critters/etc. I will include an idea list each month. Long time readers know that I've been an advocate of gardening with native plants and the critters that visit and live in our gardens since my early blogging days. Back then I fell in love with the bumbles that were visiting my garden and wrote many posts about pollinators of all kinds. I also loved sharing posts about the native wildflowers that supported those critters and began Wildflower Wednesday. It's been at least a dozen years since  that first Wildflower Wednesday meme post. I invited others to share their wildflower star of the month and many did. I continue to use the Wildflower Wednesday posts to call attention to our native plants that have co-evolved with critters in a mutually dependent manner. Co-adaptation is easiest to see with insects/pollinators and flowering plants in our gardens. Researchers have found at least three traits that flowering plants have evolved to attract pollinators: (source)

• Distinct visual cues: flowering plants have evolved bright colors, stripes, patterns, size  and colors specific to the pollinator. For example, flowering plants seeking to attract insect pollinators are typically blue an ultraviolet, whereas red and orange are designed to attract birds.     
• Scent: flowering plants use scents as a means of instructing insects as to their location. Since scents become stronger closer to the plant, the insect is able to hone-in and land on that plant to extract its nectar.     
• Some flowers use chemical and tactile means to mimic female insect species to attract the male species.

 

Let's consider our January star with co-evolution in mind.

Hamamelis vernalis is a lovely native shrub/small tree that blooms when you have just about given up hope that winter will end and warmth will return to the world. In my Middle Tennessee garden it began blooming the first week in January. It's not unusual for it to continue blooming into February and sometimes March. 

Ozark witch hazel's flowers are an unusual reddish color with four yellow/orange crepe paper streaming petals that unfurl as the day warms and furl back up when the temperature drops. This is a marvelous adaptive behavior that insures that the spidery blooms will survive the fluctuating winter weather and be in bloom for almost two months. This is super important in ensuring that any pollinating critters that are out and about on warmer days will find their way to the lovely flowers.

 February 2023: Dirca palustris, An Underused/Underappreciated Woodland Beauty

Honestly, I was worried that there would be no flowers on Dirca palustris this year after the December flash freeze. Also, worrisome was a friend's loss of his decade old Leatherwood to a fungus. Long time readers know that I rushed outside to make sure the shrub was okay. Geez Louis, was I relieved that it was doing fine.

In case that has you wondering about the shrub's hardiness, it's a very cold-hardy plant, being able to tolerate temperatures down to around -22°f when fully dormant. The flowers are produced in early spring, however, and are very likely to be damaged when the plant is grown in regions with late frosts. (source)

Despite my worry, it bloomed right on schedule.

 March 2023: A Few Spring Epemerals from Clay and Limestone 

Neither rain nor cold, or even more rain and  then very cold weather could stop the delightful harbingers of springtime that are blooming at Clay and Limestone. The delicate white or pinkish flowers of ephemerals bloom early in spring, set seed, then disappear until the next spring.

 If you had to choose one of the earliest spring ephemerals as a favorite...Would you? Could you?

Claytonia virginica or Spring Beauty

 Would you choose the candy striped Spring Beauty? 

 Claytonia virginica's flowers are about the size of a dime with five petals that spread wide as the sun warms them. From a distance, the flowers appear white, but, each petal is suffused with a delicate network of pastel pink veins. Those pink veins are nectar guides. Spring Beauties are pollinated by over 100 species of insects. That's a lot of bees, flies and other winged creatures relying on nectar and pollen. That makes them an important early food source and extremely important in our garden habitats and near by woodlands. 

Perhaps, you would choose the perfumed flowers of Cardamine concatenata/Cut-leaved toothwort! This is a common plant in Middle Tennessee, but that would never detract from its charm. Like many early blooming spring wildflowers this one is low to the ground (and you can count on getting dirty knees trying to take a decent photo). While you're crawling around you might notice their sweet fragrance. It's especially noticeable on sunny warm days.

Cut-leaved toothwort

 

April 2023:  Monarda bradburiana 

When a plant description reads like this: "Monarda bradburiana is an upright bushy perennial with square green stems" it's hard to get excited! But when you see the plant in flower and read about its wonderful qualities you know you want it in your garden. At least that's what happened to me. 

Monarda bradburiana is an exceptional Monarda and worthy to be in your garden.

• it's a compact clumping perennial wildflower
• plants have gray-green aromatic leaves on strong square stems 
  
• it blooms in mid spring in my middle Tennessee garden
• the stems are topped by showy rounded clusters of pale pink tubular flowers speckled with purple
  
• pollinators flock to the blooms
  
• it will thrive in sunny or partly shaded gardens with average well drained soils.
• no mildew
• it may self seed...that's a plus for me
• not as aggressive as other Monardas
  

 It's lovely and the fact that so many pollinators are attracted to it is a major plus. 

Besides all that...who could resist a plant with purple freckles!

 

 May 2023: There Be Dragons In the Garden

 The Dragons in my garden are the best kind to have. They're dramatic and elegant looking, growing over three foot tall with a two foot "wingspan". 

 

They mingle well with the denizens of Clay and Limestone, preferring the dappled sunlight and a moist, rich woodland soil that I have worked to create. 

 

Green Dragon, aka, Arisaema dracontium is marvelous to behold. The woodland wildflower emerges as one stalk and slowly unfurls its mighty wings. Or, if you prefer leaf! What looks like two leaves is one leaf that forks into leaflets of unequal size and uneven numbers. Go ahead and count them...it's always uneven.

 

June 2023: Clustered Mountain Mint

 Pycnanthemum muticum is quite possibly a perfect pollinator plant.

But you don't have to take my word for this! Just google Mountain Mint and every nursery selling it, State Native Plant Society or blogger who writes about it extols its insect attracting virtues. Trust me and others, this is the best mountain mint species for attracting and supporting pollinating insects! 

Here's more! The researchers at Penn State's The Pollinator Trial found that Clustered Mountain Mint was the best plant for flowering longevity; for pollinator visitor diversity; for sheer number of insect visitors (78); and, for sheer number of bee and syrphid visitors. Wowzer!

 

July 2023:  Elephantopus carolinianus 

 I don't think you would be at all surprised to discover that I've found another wildflower to love! This one is called Elephant's foot. It's a very cool flowering plant with large leaves and tiny flowers. When I say tiny I mean tiny and easily missed unless you're crawling around on the ground in a woodland setting. Yes, I do spend time crawling around on the ground looking at plants and I totally recommend it. 

Although, I've seen Elephant's foot in wooded areas near by none have naturally occurred at Clay and Limestone. But, thanks to my South Carolina gardening friend Janet, I have some in the garden. I planted them in the spring ephemeral bed along the driveway. They've survived and flowered, but not spread aggressively as some gardeners have reported. Maybe, I should be careful about what I wish for, but, I do wish this one would spread about; it would make an attractive ground cover and massing them would highlight the pretty flowers so much better.

On that note, I've discovered three seedlings in the cracks in my asphalt drive; which both amuses and amazes me. Whenever I find any plants growing in sidewalk cracks or grooves I conclude that they're perfect plants for Clay and Limestone! Plants that are able to adapt to harsh environmental conditions like heat, lack of nutrients and not much moisture, truly are treasures. It's looking good that Elephant's foot can survive our summer droughts and shallow soil. It also looks like I will be collecting seeds this fall since propagation appears to be easy! (see The Particulars below)

 

August 2023: Vernonia gigantea, A Rough and Tumble Wildflower

 

Vernonia gigantea is one of my favorite of the late summer rough and tumble wildflowers that make a home in the garden. They make gardening at this time of year a pleasure. Bees, butterflies, skippers, and various bee flies seek out the nectar and pollen. Deer do not browse it.

Ironweed is the common name for this beauty. It's a clump forming perennial with clusters of fluffy magenta-purple petaled flowers in the Asteraceae family. The flower heads consist of  9 to 30 disc flowers that sit atop stiff, upright stems with lance shaped leaves.  It's another native that doesn't mind wet feet and grows at Clay and Limestone despite the dry clay soil each summer. I do make sure it gets a good drink of water during especially droughty times.

 

September 2023:  Rough and Tumble Wildflowers on the Greenway and in My Neighborhood

It's rough and tumble wildflower bloom time in my garden and at the greenway where I walk most mornings. I am delighted to see so many different wildflowers in the sea of invasive honeysuckle, Mimosa, Ailanthus, Euonymous fortunae, Bradford Pears, privet and Rose of Sharon that have almost completely taken over many of our greenways. I love that these rough and tumble wildflowers have survived the invasion and are there for wildlife. 

Several former Wildflower Wednesday stars have a presence on the greenway and you can click on the highlighted plant names to see that post. I will introduce you to several new plants.

Hairy leaf cup/Bear's Foot/Smallanthus uvedalius

 

October 2023: Ex-aster Time is the best time to be in the garden

I've said it before and I'll say it again, ex-aster time is the best time to be in the garden. The days are warm and Autumn angle of the sun makes everything glow.

Symphyotrichum, aka ex-asters, and other Central Basin natives grew with happy abandon in the forested woodland where this garden now stands. Seventy years ago our house was built in a neighborhood carved from the woodland. Homeowners came and went while the asters and wildflowers grew quietly on the woodland edges. Almost 40 years ago this month my husband and I bought our 1955 ranch. There was a canopy of oaks, Hickories and Ashes and a old Cersis canadensis that was declining. Along the asphalt driveway was a Ostrya virginica that was being strangled  by a white Wisteria vine. At the edges of the yard were some ephemerals and other native plants that this new gardener only discovered later. What I did notice was a cloud of blue flowers that were dancing in the breeze. The plants were alive with activity; there were tiny bees, glowing metallic copper and green; flies that looked like bees; wasps of all sizes and many different bumbles. I fell in love with those beautiful blue flowers that I learned were asters and, of course, the humming that turned out to be native bumbles and other little bees.

November 2023 So Thankful for Willowleaf Asters

I love everything about Willowleaf aster.

When I say everything, I mean everything.

• I love that it can survive frosts. 
• I love that it's still providing food for every bee, butterfly, moth, wasp and critter that's still up and about on cooler days. 
• I love that it has survived droughts in my garden even though it's so much happier in moist soil. 
• I love that it's a traveler and moves around the garden via robust rhizomes to form large clonal colonies. 
• Seriously, I don't mind that it makes a big presence, because it's easy to transplant and transplants well.
• I love that Willowleaf aster is THE gathering place for all the bumbles at the end of a hard day! Bumbles are the last to leave my garden at night and it's not unusual to find them slumbering on the flowers on a cool Autumn morning. I always thank them and wish them a good day, they are quite the hardest workers in my garden.

 

Thanks for stopping by to see our Wildflower Wednesday stars for 2023. They're all favorites and all incredible plants to add to most of your gardens. If you garden in middle Tennessee they are perfect for your garden. 

I love when you visit and leave comments, especially when you share something about your garden. I hope to see you in 2024 and may your garden give you the joy that mine has given me. xoxogail

Welcome to Clay and Limestone's Wildflower Wednesday celebration. On the fourth Wednesday of each month I share information about wildflowers and other native plants. Please join in if you like. You can write a blog post or share your favorite wildflower on social media. Remember, it doesn't matter if they are in bloom or not, and, it doesn't matter if we all share the same plants. It's all about celebrating wildflowers.

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.

Wildflower Wednesday: So Thankful for Willowleaf Asters

I love everything about Willowleaf aster.

When I say everything, I mean everything.

• I love that it can survive frosts. 
• I love that it's still providing food for every bee, butterfly, moth, wasp and critter that's still up and about on cooler days. 
• I love that it has survived droughts in my garden even though it's so much happier in moist soil. 
• I love that it's a traveler and moves around the garden via robust rhizomes to form large clonal colonies. 
• Seriously, I don't mind that it makes a big presence, because it's easy to transplant and transplants well.
• I love that Willowleaf aster is THE gathering place for all the bumbles at the end of a hard day! Bumbles are the last to leave my garden at night and it's not unusual to find them slumbering on the flowers on a cool Autumn morning. I always thank them and wish them a good day, they are quite the hardest workers in my garden.

I garden with pollinators in mind, so having flowers in bloom as close to year round as is possible in my middle Tennessee garden is important. They're active as soon as there are blooming flowers; that means small flies and gnats will be buzzing around the late winter blooming witch hazels in January and February. Pollinator action gets busier when the spring ephemerals bloom and the mason bees and honeybees arrive. From then on, bumbles, green metallic bees, mason bees, big and tiny carpenter bees, sweat bees, flower flies, beetles, moths, butterflies, skippers, and Hummingbirds are busy visiting every plant that offers nectar and/or pollen. Come fall, the rush to get ready for winter ramps up the activity and the little ex-asters are covered with every imaginable pollinating critter.

Long-tailed Skipper/Urbanus proteus on Willow-leaf aster

So you can imagine how thrilled I was to be gifted this delightful aster that blooms in November. My friend referred to it as 'Miss Bessie'. She didn't know the botanical name and named it after the older gardener who passed it along to her. It bloomed the first fall after it was planted and every fall for the last dozen years. 'Miss Bessie' opens in late October just as the Little ex-asters are starting to fade and continues to bloom through much of November and occasionally into December. This fall has been no exception despite challenges from a pretty serious drought. I did have to give her a few big gulps of water from the hose but, nothing stopped 'Miss Bessie' from blooming.

 Symphyotrichum praealtum is the botanical name. It's the only aster with distinctive net/reticulate veins on the undersides of the leaf, which made id-ing her easy.

Symphyotrichum praealtum with its telltale prominent veining

I hope you don't mind that I showcase this important pollinator plant every few years? It's deserving of being a frequent Wildflower Wednesday star. It's my way of encouraging more people to add it to their garden.

Willowleaf aster is an important late fall source of nectar and pollen

Not only is it a star, it's also a Clay and Limestone rough and tumble wildflower. Rough and tumble wildflowers, are generally simple flowers that bloom their hearts out and require no special care. That's exactly how I would describe Willowleaf aster. It shines in my November garden; standing straight and tall until the top heavy flowerheads bend it toward the sun. It sways in the slightest breeze and only patience and hundreds of shots yields a good photo of nectaring pollinators.

photo from last December and a frost

Symphyotrichum praealtum is a tall grass prairie native that is harder to find than a tall grass prairie in Tennessee. It's listed as an endangered and threatened species in several states, including Tennessee, and in several Canadian provinces. (Go here to read about rescue efforts in Canada.)

Symphyotrichum praealtum with its telltale prominent veining

Willowleaf aster can be grown from seed or plants. It needs full/half sun. Surface sew seeds directly in the garden in the fall. They need sun to germinate (don't cover the seed) and the cool moist stratification that happens over a winter. If you're planting rooted plants keep the soil moist until the ground is frozen. 

If you have moist garden soil you can expect it to be VERY happy! Maybe, too happy. It spreads via rhizomes to form large clonal colonies, but, please don't read this and shy away from planting it in your garden. It's so important for pollinators. Plant it in a container or with other aggressive plants.

I think it would dance beautifully with River oats, Obedient plant, Goldenrods, Sunflowers, Rudbeckias, Boltonia, Amsonia, Little Bluestem, Big Bluestem, Indiangrass, and Switchgrass.

Delightful

Blooming this late in the season means that Willowleaf aster plays an important role in providing food for pollinators still out and about on those beautiful warm fall days. One source suggests that it's a go to food source for migrating Monarch Butterflies. I recommend planting this beauty. Get seeds from Prairie Moon Nursery and local buyers, we can find plants at GroWild.

 

 The Particulars

Botanical name: Symphyotrichum praealtum

Family: Asteraceae 

Common Name: willowleaf aster

Type: Herbaceous perennial

Native Range: Southeastern to central and southwestern United States

Zone: 4 to 8 

Height: 2.00 to 5.00 feet Spread: 1.50 to 4.00 feet 

Bloom Time: October to November in middle Tennessee (Zone 7b)

Bloom description: Blue to purple daisy-like composite flowers about ½–¾" across. Each flower has 20-30 has lavender (less often white) ray florets surrounding numerous yellow disk florets that eventually become reddish purple.

Sun: Full sun to part shade 

Water: Medium to wet 

Habitat: Wet low ground, moist meadows, prairie swales, stream and pond edges, open thickets, and roadsides; loamy soil. Please note: NOT a xeric plant.

Maintenance: Low. If you have an extended drought you might need to water. Divide yearly and share with friends.

Suggested Use: Rain gardens, pollinator and butterfly gardens, borders, shorelines, Rhizomatous. Tolerates temporary flooding.

Flower: Showy, lavender with yellow center

Wildlife value: Especially important to mid and late fall season pollinators Butterflies, bumblebees, "Symphyotrichum praealtum spreads via rhizomes to form large clonal colonies. The species does not self-pollinate; cross-pollination with a genetically distinct plant is required for the production of seeds. The seeds are wind-dispersed. In some areas, this species may be the latest-flowering plant, and this may limit the number of insects available to serve as pollinators." source 

Faunal associations: Many kinds of insects visit the flowers, including long-tongued bees, short-tongued bees, flies, butterflies, and skippers. Among the bees, this includes such visitors as honeybees, bumblebees, Halictine bees, and some Andrenid bees that fly late in the season. Some Syrphid flies and beetles may feed on the pollen, otherwise these insects seek nectar; bees also collect pollen for their larvae. The caterpillars of the butterflies Chlosyne nycteis (Silvery Checkerspot) Phyciodes tharos (Pearl Crescent) feed on the foliage, as well as the caterpillars of several species of moths. (source)

Comments: Willowleaf aster is a common name, possibly because the leaves resemble willow tree leaves. Deer and rabbits usually leave this one alone. Rhizomatous/Clonal so it needs an unrelated plant to cross pollinate to get seeds.

Tolerates: Wet Soil

 

 

So, my dear readers, please join me in planting more native ex-asters! I know your pollinators will appreciate the marvelous and floriferous 'Miss Bessie' and you'll love having blooms in late fall.

xoxogail

PS It goes without saying, but you know me, I have to say it. If you want pollinators to visit your garden, you must, never, ever, ever, ever use pesticides. I'm not kidding...NEVER!
 

 

Welcome to Clay and Limestone's Wildflower Wednesday celebration. I am so glad you stopped by. WW is about sharing and celebrating wildflowers from all over this great big, beautiful world. Join us on the fourth Wednesday of each month.

 

Don't forget our Wildflower Wednesday monthly challenge! 

The first part of this challenge is to do something every month during 2023 and beyond that supports native wildflowers, pollinators, and the critters that visit and rely on our gardens. Activities that increase our knowledge of the natural world are equally as valuable. Helping others learn about nature is included. Golly gee whiz, there are so many things you can do. The second part of the challenge is to post about it somewhere: Your blog, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or even your neighborhood listserve. Wouldn't an article in the local paper be a coup for nature! Why post it? Because positive publicity is needed to educate our friends, neighbors and communities about how important even the smallest changes we make as gardeners can be for pollinators, birds, insects and mammals that live all around us. 

Why now?  My neighborhood is changing. Yours might be, too. Every day an older home along with many (if not all) of the mature oak, hickory, maple, Eastern cedar and hackberry trees that have been there for over 75 years are cut down. In place of the "bee lawns" composed of Claytonia, Salvia lyrata, Ruellia humilis, fleabane, Western Daisy, Violets, self-heal, clovers, and dandelions that grew so well in the shallow soil that sits on top of limestone bedrock are sodded non-native lawns that get daily watering, whether it rains or not. Gone are the lightening bugs. Gone are the ground dwelling/nesting native bees. Gone is the habitat for insects, spiders and other critters. Gone is plant diversity. Gone are trees that provided for hundreds of moths, butterflies and other insects. Gone are the nesting sites for woodpeckers, hummingbirds, Chickadees and other birds. It breaks my heart. We can't stop the multi-million dollar houses from going up, but, maybe we can make a lot of educational noise and help our new neighbors see the value in providing for critters.

A gardener can hope!

Here's an incomplete list of things you might consider doing or changing in your garden, but don't limit yourself to my list, make your own list or check out the internet for ideas.

Shrink your lawn and make your planting beds larger.

Plant your favorite native perennials and shrubs. Leave them standing after they've gone to seed to continue to provide for wildlife. What you plant in your yard makes a difference to wildlife. I garden for wildlife so every tree, shrub and plant is chosen with wildlife in mind.

Plant more natives and then consider planting even more. "A typical suburban landscape contains only 20-30% native plant species. Try reversing that trend in your own landscape by using 70-80% native species." (source)

Commit to never, ever, ever, ever using pesticides in the garden.

Stay away from native plant hybrids and cultivars that are double flowered. They are sterile and have no pollen or nectar for insects and no seeds for the birds. If possible plant “true open-pollinated native wildflowers”

If you want to garden for wildlife and pollinators, don't let lack of space stop you! Plant your favorite wildflowers in large containers. You just might have the prairie or woodland garden you've always wanted...in a pot!
 
Create a water feature. Provide water year round that is accessible to birds, bees and other critters.

Show some soil! Our native ground nesting bees nest in bare soil, so don't mulch every square inch of your garden. 

Get rid of the plastic weed barriers in your garden, it's not good for anything.

Invite bugs into your garden. Plant annuals that attract beneficial bugs.

Learn to tolerate damaged plants. Imperfection is the new perfect.

Don't be in a rush to clean up the fall garden. Leave plant stalks and seed heads standing all winter. Leave those fallen leaves or as many as you can tolerate! Insects over winter in the fallen and decaying leaves. Leave a layer of leaves as a soft landing material under trees for moths and butterflies to over winter. Many caterpillars drop to the ground from the trees in the fall.

Make a brush pile. Stack fallen brush, cut tree limbs, broken pots for ground beetles. Ground beetles are excellent at eating "bad bugs'. They're also good bird, toad and small critter food. 

Rethink what you consider a pest. Lots of good bugs eat aphids. Spiders are important predators and bird food!

Add nesting boxes for birds. 

Turn off your yard up-lighting, eave lights and porch lights after 11pm. This is important for nocturnal critters including mammals, snakes, insects, bats, birds (especially during migration). (Birdcast suggestions)

Plant shrubs and small trees that provide berries and nuts.

Keep a nature journal: Observe visitors to the water feature, make note of when they visit. Notice which flowers attract the most pollinators and which ones are just pretty faces. 

Join your state native plant society (Tennessee Native Plant Society)

Join WildOnes even if there's no local group. (Middle Tennessee WildOnes)

Support your local native plant sellers. (GroWild in middle Tennessee, Overhill Gardens in east Tennessee,  Resource Guide TN Native Plant Society)

Encourage your local garden clubs to offer native plant talks.

If your garden club has a plant sale encourage them to sell more native plants.

Get trained as a naturalist (Tennessee Naturalist Program, Almost every state has their own Master Naturalist training program)

Take an online course on tree, fungi and wildflower id.

Take a walk in your neighborhood and observe nature. To quote Joanna Brichetto in Sidewalk Nature "Look Around. Nature is here, is us, our driveways, our baseboards, parks, and parking lots."

Buy the best wildflower, butterfly and bird id books for your state.

Read nature books to your children and grandchildren. Buy them nature books.

Give nature books as baby shower gifts (Nature books for infants and toddlers)

Read! There are hundreds of books on gardening for wildlife, the environment, and rewilding our world. There are delightful blogs with wonderful and informative articles.

If you are already gardening with wildlife in mind then add a few signs that help educate your neighbors. (Xerces Society, Pollinator Partnership)

Set up an information station where neighbors can pick up brochures about your garden and other info. 

Get certified (National Wildlife Federation, check to see what your state offers)

 

Visit

 

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.