Bee Plants

Large often pyramidal sprays of small rose colored flowers are produced from spring to fall on mature plants and are held against a foil of medium green heart-shaped foliage. The flowers are in constant use by honeybees and occasionally by butterflies. The Rosa Montana or Coral Vine, Antigonon leptopus, is a tendriled, tuberous tropical vine that is evergreen in frost free regions but acts like a die-back perennial in areas that experience freezing temperatures returning from the tubers in spring. As a perennial vine, it typically remains in the 8-15' range but can exceed 40' high in tropical regions. Provide a full sun to mostly sunny site in a well-drained, average moist, fertile soil for optimum growth and flowering. Easy to grow with moderate drought resistant once well-established, though this may reduce growth and flowering. In areas where hard freezes occur, plant out early in the growing season and no later than by midsummer to help insure winter survival. Item# 825

This wonderful low groundcover produces dense cone-shaped, upright flower spikes with red stems in mid to late spring, with some flowering later in the season, and are composed of tiny ball-shaped shrimp-pink buds that open to display the tiny white flowers. The flowers are held just above the palmate bluish-green to green foliage with each lobe displaying a black to burgundy main vein. In fall and under shade, the foliage becomes a deep shiny black and in sunnier sites it takes on deep bronze tones. Pink Skyrocket Foam Flower is an easy and rewarding low, stoloniferous (think Strawberry plants), semi-evergreen groundcover that is shade tolerant and will likely need shade in areas with hot summer climates. They will prefer a moist soil with ample organic matter and average or better drainage. The flowers are reported to be fragrant and are likely pollinated by smaller bees. Dr. Allen Armitage in his Herbaceous Perennial Plants, 4th Edition states that he "puts these plants on the A list for shady areas." Pink Skyrocket Foam Flower is an RHS Award of Garden Merit winner. Photos courtesy of Terra Nova Nurseries, Inc., www.terranovanurseries.com, all rights reserved. Item# 12872

The dense spikes of light periwinkle blue to light lavender pea-like flowers are held above a compact rounded mound of gray green foliage and are produced in spring. Pixie Periwinkle Dwarf Blue False Indigo or Baptisia was selected for its small compact rounded form, early flowering, and unusual light blue to light lavender flower spikes. A selection of Baptisia australis discovered and introduced by David Leiderman of Hoffie Nursery and GET Group Inc. in 2009. The Baptisias or False Indigos are easy and low-maintenance, deer resistant, long-lived, taprooted perennials that produce more and more flowering spikes with each passing year with some plants producing over a 100 spikes on mature plants. Considered a must for the cutflower garden as the spikes have an excellent vase life. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in a soil with average or better drainage and moderate fertility. The flowers attract bees, the occassional butterfly, and hummingbirds. Item# 12463

The dense spikes of pea-like blossoms are purple in bud, open to mauve, fade through light lavender and finally to near white creating a wonderful bicolor effect from the top to the bottom of the flower clusters. The flowers attract mainly bees. Plum Rosy Baptisia or False Indigo, a hybrid cultivar of US native species (a.k.a. nativar), is a vigorous and heavy flowering selection of this clump forming perennial growing to about 42-48"H x 48"W. Baptisias are easy and low-maintenance, deer resistant, long-lived, taprooted perennials that produce more and more flowering spikes with each passing year with some plants producing over a 100 spikes on mature plants. Considered a must for the cutflower garden as the spikes have an excellent vase life. Provide them with a full to mostly sunny site in a soil with average or better drainage and moderate fertility. Images courtesy of Walter's Gardens, Inc., all rights reserved. Item# 12899

The 1" long deep blue to deep blue-violet tubular flowers emerge from contrasting near black, dense flower spikes to 10-14" high spikes creating a two-tone effect atop a mass of deep green fragrant foliage. Poquita™ Dark Blue Dwarf Hummingbird Mint is a hummingbird and bee magnet and the dense compact habit of this Agastache, even more compact than the Kudos™ series, lends it to use as a specimen or in mixed containers where you can draw these aerial acrobats in for up close viewing as well as in the garden and landscape. Provide a full to mostly sunny location in a well-drained soil for optimum health and flowering. Periodic removal of spent flower spikes will help to keep the plants looking clean and fresh as well as to make way for new flower spikes. Image courtesy of Terra Nova Nurseries, Inc. www.terranovanurseries.com, all rights reserved. Item# 12777

This a very easy and strong-growing, perennial vine with beautiful glossy leaves, exotic white and purple flowers, which are followed by large purple, rounded fruit, about the size of tangerines, with a nice flavor. Possum Purple is considered to be a self pollinating Passionfruit but having another cultivar for cross pollination may be beneficial as well. Caterpillar host: Gulf Fritillary, Julia Butterfly, Variegated Fritillary, and Zebra Longwing. Item# 1191

Over a long period beginning In late summer and fall these plants are covered with dark-eyed, bicolor red, orange, and golden yellow, 2-3" wide daisies that sit atop sturdy stems with the flowers providing pollen and nectar for smaller pollinators and other garden beneficials. Prairie Glow Brown-Eyed Susan offers more flowers over a longer period on sturdy disease resistant plants with improved vigor and branching on longer-lived plants. This is a heat and sun-loving, deer and rabbit resistant native well-suited to both the garden and landscape as well as in naturalistic settings. The Brown-Eyed Susan, Rudbeckia triloba, readily reseeds on exposed soils but is not aggressive or difficult to control. It prefers a full to mostly sunny position in well-drained, average moist to semi-dry soils. Ripened seedheads offer food for songbirds and small mammals. Images courtesy of North Creek Nurseries, Inc., all rights reserved. Item# 12774

Tops in Mt. Cuba Center's first Echinacea trials in 2009 and was still one of the top ten in the 2020 trials! It also garnered the most pollinator visits in their 2018-19 trial years likely due to its strongly fragrant flowers. Pure white rays surround the dark orange tipped rounded cones of disk flowers on the 3-5" wide flowers atop sturdy 24-30" high stems beginning in late spring and continuing into early fall. PRAIRIE PILLARS™ Fragrant Angel Coneflower is a hybrid Coneflower selected for its exceptionally long flowering season that lasts from late spring or early summer often into fall, briliant color, extra large flowers, and improved branching habit over the original Mac-N-Cheese as well as its perennial reliability as a garden plant. Coneflowers are clump forming perennials whose often fragrant flowers are adored by butterflies, bees, and other pollinators that can be enjoyed as part of the sunny garden garden and landscape as well as container specimens. Leave seedheads for fall and winter songbirds to enjoy. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in an average moist, well-drained, fertile soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Photos courtesy of TERRA NOVA® Nurseries, Inc. www.terranovanurseries.com, all rights reserved. Item# 12787

Clusters of 2" wide primrose yellow fragrant 4-petalled flowers are produced in mid to late spring into early summer atop the low growing spreading stems adorned with deep green fuzzy foliage of this native perennial wildflower. Prairie Sundrops, a.k.a. Meadow Evening Primrose, is a dayflowering species of Evening Primrose with a low somewhat bushy habit and it does spread somewhat by rhizomes which is great for naturalistic settings like meadows, prairies and roadside plantings and it is reportedly relatively easy to control in garden settings as well. An adaptable native perennial that is tolerant of wet to dry soils including clay but it seems to prefer an acidic pH. The flowers attract butterflies and larger native bees. Item# 11662

The 2-1/2" to 3" wide, rich watermelon pink, funnel-shaped flowers sport a contrasting deep red blotch on the upper most petals and are produced in midspring on this highly popular old cultivar. Pride of Mobile Azalea, a.k.a. Elegans Superba or Watermelon, is a vigorous heirloom Southern Indica evergreen azalea with an initially upright habit to about 6-8'(-10') and wide. Its vigorous habit lend this large growing evergreen azalea to use as an informal hedge, specimen plant, and as a spring flowering backdrop for mixed perennial gardens as well as in the landscape. Azaleas do best in average moist, acidic soils that are rich in organic matter but have good to excellent drainage and should be top dressed with an organic mulch such as pine straw and pine bark. We recommend using a slow-release, non-burning fertilizer that is labeled for acidic loving plants. Azalea flowers attract a variety of pollinators including bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Item# 12802

The deep berry colored, dark-eyed flowers cover up the plants from late spring or early summer into fall atop sturdy branching stems on compact plants attracting a variety of pollinators but especially bees and butterflies. PRIMA™ Berry Coneflower was selected for its tight compact habit and excellent flower power. Its compact enough to create excellent container specimens as well as for summerlong color in the garden and landscape. Echinaceas typically do best in fertile, well-drained, average moist soils in a full to mostly sunny sites. Leave seedheads for fall and winter songbirds to enjoy. Photos courtesy of TERRA NOVA® Nurseries, Inc. www.terranovanurseries.com, all rights reserved. Item# 13320

In warm orange and yellow shades, the large, fragrant, upward facing flowers are centered by a large dark, nectar rich cones tipped in dark orange and red tones and the ray petals tend to be lightest at their tips deepening into orange tones nearest their base. PRIMA™ Tiger Echinacea or Coneflower was selected for its compact mound of clean deep green foliage that is topped by by sturdy 12-18" high stems that flower for months beginning in late spring or early summer and continuing into fall. This is a hardy clump forming perennial that will do best in fertile, well-drained, average moist soils in a full to mostly sunny site. The compact habit of PRIMA™ Tiger Echinacea lends it to use as a container plant as well as in the garden and landscape. Leave seedheads for fall and winter songbirds to enjoy. Photos courtesy of TERRA NOVA® Nurseries, Inc. www.terranovanurseries.com, all rights reserved. Item# 13079

Hundreds of 1" wide lavender-blue, semi-double daisies with a showy yellow eye literally cover these plants for weeks beginning in late summer and continuing into mid fall. Professor Anton Kippenburg New York Aster or Michaelmas Daisy is a clump forming, densely branching, perennial growing to just 12-18" high and wide and while this is a small growing plant it never seems to lack for flower power once late summer arrives. Dr. Allen Armitage in his Herbaceous Perennial Plants, 4th edition states that "This excellent cultivar has withstood the test of time." No pinching or staking is required to enjoy these beauties. Use these perennials where you would normally buy Chrysanthemums whether as part of the perennial border, in the landscape, or even as container plants. The flowers attract bees, butterflies, hover flies, and numerous other garden beneficials. Item# 12018

In summer, silvery buds open to display the fully double bubblegum pink 2" wide flowers with yellow eyes that are held on sturdy airy branching stems well above the foliage and are followed by silky white and silvery seed heads. PUFF® Pink Anemone or Windflower was selected as much or more for its tight 12" x 12" densely branching habit as for its excellent display of bright summer flowers. This is an herbaceous, clump forming, shade tolerant perennial that will do best in an average moist, fertile, well-drained soil in an area that receives at least 3-4 hours of direct sunlight. In areas with cooler summers Anemones can tolerate full sun but in hotter climates consider providing them with afternoon shade. Tough, easy and long-lived. Small enough for container specimens but it is sure to be an easy and low maintenance addition to a sunny garden or landscape. Images courtesy of Terra Nova Nurseries, Inc., www.terranovanurseries.com, all rights reserved. Item# 13322

Spikes of soft golden-orange upward facing funnel-shaped flowers are produced non-stop from mid to late spring to fall atop the medium green foliage attracting hummingbirds, occasional butterflies, and long-tongued bees. Pumpkin Pie Hummingbird Bush, a selection of Anisacanthus quadrifidus var. wrightii and potentially the same as the cultivar 'Bennie's Gold', is a small decidous native shrub from South Texas with excellent flower power. This easy and reliable heirloom has an upright to spreading busny habit rarely exceeding 3-4' in height (3'x3' is fairly typical in our zone 8B gardens) and it revels in the heat and sun of summer and is undaunted by the high humidity and high rainfall of the southeastern US. In the northernmost portion of its hardiness range, zones 7A-8A, the Hummingbird Bush may freeze back to near groundlevel in the hardest winters but readily returns to flowering by mid to late spring. Provide a full sun to mostly sunny site in a well-drained, fertile, average moist soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Small enough for containers but makes a no-maintenance addition the garden and landscape. Catepillar host for Crimson Patch. Item# 9671

Large, 3" wide deep purplish red trumpet shaped flowers are produced throughout the warmer months of the year to potentially year-round under warm tropical conditions. The Purple Allamanda, we originally thought that this was the dwarf form, is a vigorous growing and very free flowering, naturally evergreen, scandent (or vine-like shrub, rambler, etc.) and can be trained to espelier, trellis, or arbor or periodic pruning will help to keep it semi-shrub-like. Rich green smooth foliage adorns the upright to arching stems on a plant that grows to about 8-12'H and may get larger with age under good conditions. Provide the Purple Alllamanda with a full to partly sunny site in an average moist but never soggy wet, well-drained, fertile soil for optimum vigor and continuous flowering. Where not hardy it can be easily overwintered in a warm sunny window as a container plant. It should make an excellent container specimen that is sure to add a little tropical flair to any sunny setting. Item# 12976

A purple form of the Blue Butterfly Bush, producing large clusters of violet and purple butterfly-shaped flowers beginning in spring and early summer and continuing into fall under good conditions. For years the only cultivar of Blue Butterfly Bush available was 'Ugandense' the common Blue Butterfly Bush, Rotheca myricoides (syn. Clerodendrum myricoides 'Ugandense'), a.k.a. Oxford Blue and Cambridge Blue, this darker purple to violet flowered cultivar was shared with us by plantsman Heidi Sheesley of Treesearch Farms, Inc., Houston, Texas. The specialized butterfly-shaped flowers are pollinated by Bumblebees and Carpenter Bees. The Purple Butterfly Bush can be enjoyed as a colorful container plant or in the garden and landscape where hardy. Item# 11765

The show begins in early spring as the deep purple fans of foliage emerge from the ground eventually maturing to green and it crescendos in late spring to early summer with the plants producing deep purple, 24-30" high stems that are adorned with elegant purple, white, and yellow flowers. Purple Flame Blue Flag, a unique selection of the native Iris versicolor, was selected in 2020 as part of the American Horticulture Society's Mt. Cuba Collection™ after literally decades of garden trials. This is a slowly spreading, clump-forming, rhizomatous, herbaceous, winter deciduous perennial that is a reliable performer under average moisture conditions, although it may be at its best in moist to wet to submerged sites like rain gardens, bogs, and near the edge of ponds and other water features. Provide a full sun to partly shaded site in a fertile soil for optimum growth and vigor. Deer resistant, a good cut flower, and requires almost no maintenance. Images courtesy of Mt. Cuba Center, all rights reserved. Item# 13343

The nearly 1" wide creamy white starry spring flowers are streaked with pink and are soon followed by glossy deep purple new growth that matures to deep green. The Purple Glaze® Japanese Anise Shrub, Illicium anisatum 'Murasaki-no-sato', is a shade tolerant medium-sized to large growing evergreen shrub with a slow to medium rate of growth and naturally has an upright to rounded habit. It is somewhat resistant to short periods of drought once well-established and should be grown in a site with good drainage and average moist to moist soils in an area that receives shade during the hottest part of the day, especially in hot summer climates. Anise flowers attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Not a spice plant. Item# 12003

Deep velvety purple blooms are produced continuously from spring to fall on this upright to spreading perennial. The Purple Porterweed is a medium sized variety becoming fairly dense as it matures. Porterweeds are excellent nectar producers outperforming all other butterfly plants in the garden. Item# 578.

Intense orange-red funnel-shaped flowers are produced on sturdy spikes throughout summer on compact, well-branched plants and the flowers are sure to attract hummingbirds, butterflies, bees and other pollinators. Quartz® Red Penstemon or Beardtongue was selected for its neat, well-branched compact habit, sturdy flowering stems, intense red showy flowers, and especially for its ability to flower continuously throughout summer. This a clump-forming, heat loving perennial that is perfectly suited to create fantastic specimen container plants as well as in mixed company or utilize its color show in the garden and landscape for summer-long color. Provide Quartz® Red Penstemon with a full to mostly sunny site in a well-drained, fertile soil for optimum vigor and flowering potential. Images courtesy of Ball Horticulture, Inc., all rights reserved. Item# 12404