Native Plants

A show stopper! Tangerine Beauty Cross Vine produces a huge mass of 2" orange trumpets with yellow throats in late spring with some blooms throughout summer on well-established vines. An easily grown and vigorous clinging native evergreen vine that can easily grow up masonry, tree bark, or other structures without support.Cross Vines are a low maintenance choice for fences, posts, and large trellises. The trumpet shaped flowers attract hummingbirds, bees and other pollinators. The unusual compound, glossy, dark green foliage takes on orange, red, bronze, and purple tones when grown in full sun during fall and winter.  Item# 12029

Clusters of soft yellow-orange tubular buds mature into medium orange tubular trumpet-shaped flowers that darken as they age. Flowering begins in late winter to early spring and continues cyclically throughout the growing season and finishing up in fall at the end of hummingbird season. Tangerine Princess Coral Honeysuckle, a Louisiana selection of Lonicera sempervirens, is a native, twining, deciduous, woody vine that is one of the longest flowering vines for attracting hummingbirds. The mother plant was discovered during a tour of the Dr. Charles Allen Nature Preserve in northern Louisiana with its namesake noted botanist, author, and retired professor Dr. Charles Allen, Ken and Sonie Milton, etal. Coral or Trumpet Honeysuckle will happily twine through a 6' high chain link fence or up an 8' arbor, trellis, or post. Caterpillar host: Chalcedon Checkerspot. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in an average moist, fertile, well-drained soil for optimum vigor and flowering. 1/4" red berries follow flowering and are a treat for songbirds. Item# 957

Large dark purplish pink rays surround the green and copper tinged cone of nectar rich disk flowers in summer and interestingly the flowers always face eastward. The Tennessee Purple Coneflower is a rare species of Echinacea known only from a small area in central Tennessee around the Nashville area and was one of the very first plants to be added to the Endangered Species list but now the populations are stable enough that it has been unlisted and is a model success story for endangered plant species. A taprooted drought resistant native perennial, provide the Tennessee Purple Coneflower with a well-drained soil in a full to mostly sunny site in the garden and landscape. The flowers attract a menagerie of pollinators, especially butterflies, bees, as well as hummingbirds and other garden beneficials. Item# 11727

An exceptionally rare species found only in 4 Texas counties, Texan Trailing Phlox is a low growing groundhugging perennial that produces clusters of deep fuchsia pink Thrift-like flowers held above the low trailing stems that are densely covered in short needle-like deep green foliage. The flowers attract butterflies large and small alike. This evergreen native perennial needs excellent drainage and is typically found growing on sandy pimple mounds. It can be used as a groundcover in the garden and landscape where soils have excellent drainage. Texan Trailing Phlox, Phlox nivalis ssp. texensis, also makes an easy and forgiving container plant with stems that can trail to 12" or more. In containers use a cactus-like mix and preferrably unglazed terra cotta containers. Item# 11966

A choice native coneflower, the Texas Coneflower produces 3-5" bright golden yellow daisies that  are borne singly, or in small clusters of up 5 flowers, and are held on sturdy upright stems in summer. A rosette of large, rich dark green glossy foliage subtends the flower stalks. Texas Coneflower provides us with a medium-sized Rudbeckia that is similar in habit to the stately Giant Coneflower. Item# 10217.

Small clusters of 1" medium yellow lily-like flowers or born on tall slender, 3-5' spikes in fall well above the low light green rosettes of soft succulent narrow strap-like foliage. The Texas Craglily is a rare Texas native that is Texas tough and surprisingly cold tolerant considering it's native home is in the southern most tip of the panhandle. Drought tolerant and easy. Item# 10068.

Texas Ironweed produces clusters of rich purple, to pinkish purple, frilly flowers in summer atop fairly sturdy upright stems. This one of the smaller growing Ironweeds and can be somewhat rhizomatous but does not appear to aggressive. This is tough little drought resistant perennial that is excellent for pollinators common to well-drained soils. Texas Ironweed is shade tolerant but will perform best when grown in full sun in well-drained soils. Item# 10671.

Clusters of 6-8" wide night fragrant white flowers with long thin narrow petals and a wavy circular hymen are borne in summer atop the sturdy 2-3' high stems of this heirloom garden favorite. Tropical Giant Spider Lily is a vigorous clump forming, evergreen (to deciduous where freezes occur) bulbous perennial with large glossy medium green sword-shaped upright to arching foliage that readily multiplies into a dense clump of foliage and flowers. It makes an easy and low maintenance addition to the garden or landscape as well as an easy and forgiving container specimen plant. The lush, large sword-like, rich green upright to arching foliage is attractive even when the plant is not in flower. We ship large established plants growing in their own soil and container. Item# 1239

Clusters of 3" long yellow, orange, orange-red, or red trumpets adorn this vigorous native vine throughout summer. An excellent choice for hummingbirds. Trumpet Creeper's vigor, tolerance of poor soils, and durability lend it to use in difficult sites. Use as an espalier, allow it to climb a sturdy fence, or cover an arbor. These are seedling grown and so the flower color may be range from a rich orange to nearly yellow to a dark brick red. Item# 11295

A vigorous hybrid native perennial, Twilite Prairieblues™ Baptisia can produce over 100 flowering spikes per plant of deep violet-purple to nearly burgundy flowers with a soft yellow keel held above the rich green foliage. An excellent addition to the perennial border or cut-flower garden that is drought tolerant, deer resistant, durable, and easy. Considered a must for the cutflower garden as the spikes have an excellent vase life. Twilite Prairieblues™ Baptisia is a hybrid of Baptisia australis and Baptisia sphaerocarpa and was developed at the Chicago Botanic Gardens by Dr. Jim Ault. This is the first introduction from their Baptisia breeding program. Images courtesy of Dr. Jim Ault and Chicagoland Grows®, Inc., all rights reserved. Though it grows larger than many hybrids, it still received 4.5 out 5 stars in 2012-2015 Baptisia Trials at Mount Cuba Center! Item# 9716

Beautiful white edged to pink tinged, succulent variegated ovate foliage adorns the upright, zig-zagging stems on an upright growing succulent. The beautifully variegated foliage of this Red Bird Cactus, actually a Euphorbia or Pedilanthus and not a true cacti, makes this plant worth growing although the plant gets it's name from the clusters of tiny red bird-shaped that may be produced in summer. This is an easy and forgiving succulent that develops into an architecturally pleasing specimen plant suitable for a semi-shaded porch or patio and it tends to have more pink foliage coloration where it receives some direct sunlight as well as during cooler weather. Allow the soil to become somewhat dry between waterings although it can tolerant more moisture when in active growth and less during winter. Item# 598

Large rounded clusters of medium to light pink, honeysuckle-like fragrant flowers are produced in early spring atop the still bare winter stems attracting larger butterflies, hummingbirds, and the hummingbird like Sphinx moths with its fragrance and nectar. Varnadoe's Phlox Pink, a strongly pink selection of the native Piedmont, Mountain or Pinxterbloom Azalea, Rhododendron canescens, whose flowers are more commonly a light pink to near white, at least here in the Pineywoods. This is a medium-sized deciduous native shrub and is often still fondly called Wild Bush Honeysuckle. Like most Azaleas, it will do best in an average moist, acidic, well-draining soil that is top dressed with a breathable organic mulch like pine straw. It can tolerate full to mostly sunny sites under good conditions but is generally best grown in an area that receives filtered to partial shade. Item# 13078

Vibrant glowing fuchsia, 1" long two-lipped tubular flowers are borne along short spikes from spring to fall on this vigorous Salvia hybrid. Vibe® Ignition Fuchsia Autumn or James Sage is hybrid of Salvia greggi x S. microphylla garnering the best of both species and boasting exceptional flower power and a naturally compact tidy rounded habit to 2'x2'. It is sure to make an easy and forgiving colorful low-maintenance container plant or add it to the garden and landscape where its flowers will draw in hummingbirds, butterflies, and larger bees throughout the growing season. Provide a full to mostly sunny site with good drainage for optimum vigor and flowering. Vibe® Ignition Fuchsia Salvia is moderately drought resistant once fully established but may flower best under average moisture conditions. Images courtesy of Ball Horticulture, Inc., all rights reserved. Item# 12417

Vibrant dark purple, 1" long two-lipped tubular flowers are borne along short spikes from spring to fall on this vigorous Salvia hybrid. Vibe® Ignition Purple Autumn James Sage is hybrid of Salvia greggi x S. microphylla garnering the best of both species and boasting exceptional flower power and a naturally compact tidy rounded habit to 2'x2'. It is sure to make an easy and forgiving colorful low-maintenance container plant or add it to the garden and landscape where its flowers will draw in hummingbirds, butterflies, and larger bees throughout the growing season. Provide a full to mostly sunny site with good drainage for optimum vigor and flowering. Vibe® Ignition Purple Salvia is moderately drought resistant once fully established but may flower best under average moisture conditions. Item# 11987

Dense flattened clusters of dainty white tubular flowers top the narrow blue-green to green fragrant foliage in summer. The small nectar rich flowers of Virginia Mountain Mint, Pycnanthemum virginianum, attract a wide variety of pollinators, and are especially important to native bees. This is a rhizomatous native perennial that will readily spread especially in moist soils. It is native mainly to the northcentral and northeastern US and is typically found in moist soils but can tolerate drier sites where it is less likely to spread aggressively. Virginia Mountain Mint is tolerant of a wide variety of soil types from clay, to sandy, to rocky as well as calcareous soils. Item# 12355

Large clusters of lightly fragrant, 1 to 1-1/2" wide, 4-'petaled' white flowers often with light green accents are produced in mid to late summer attracting bees, hummingibirds, and other pollinators. The Virgin's Bower, Clematis virginiana, is a vigorous, deciduous, woody native vine climbing via tendril-like leaf petioles up to about 20' high where it has support. It is deer and rabbit resistant, is adaptable to soil types and moisture levels, as well as sunlight, although, plants grown in sun to part shade may flower more profusely. This is not to be confused with the invasive Sweet Autumn Clematis, Clematis terniflora, which has entire or smooth leaflet edges and the foliage is thick and leathery, whereas, Virgin's Bower, C. virginiana, has toothed leaflets and the foliage tends to be a darker green. Female flowers may be followed by densely 'bearded', long lasting seed heads. Note: These are seed raised plants which may have only male, only female, or both flower types on the same plant. Flower and overall plant images courtesy of North Creek Nurseries, all rights reserved. Item# 13179

Yellow trumpet shaped flowers are heavily accented by deep brick red in the throat and are produced in mass in spring to early summer with flowering coinciding with the arrival of migrating hummingbirds. The flowers have a fragrance similar to the candy Bit O' Honey that my mother often enjoyed as we were growing up. The flowers also attract larger bees and other pollinators. The Wabash Valley Crossvine, a selection of Bignonia capreolata from its northern most regions in Wabash County in southern Illinois and was selected by the late Dr. Wesley Whiteside and was introduced to the nursery trade by Ellen Hornig via Broken Arrow Nursery. It was selected at least in part for its reliable zone 6 cold hardiness. The Crossvine is a vigorous semi-evergreen, clinging native vine that produces pads at the ends of its tendrils that can attach to most surfaces without harming brickwork and masonry. These native vines make a low maintenance choice for fences, posts, arbors, and larger trellises. Item# 13055

Another excellent native shrub for the landscape! The dense neat mound of whorled deep green glossy foliage and red tinged stems is topped by clusters of white flowers in spring which make way to red berries ripening through purple and finally black. The flowers attract a variety of pollinators and the fruit attract songbirds and smaller fructivores. Walter's Whorled Class Viburnum is a medium-sized selection of the southeastern native Walter's Viburnum, Viburnum obovatum, and as its name implies, its foliage is whorled around the stem thus providing 33% more greenery as compared to non-whorled selections of this species. This shrub's dense habit lends it to use anywhere a medium-sized shrub is desired in the landscape. It is generally evergreen into zone 8A and tends to be deciduous to semi-evergreen in zones 6 and 7. Use this tough native shrub in place of Dwarf Yaupon, Indian Hawthorne, or anywhere a medium-sized, disease resistant, low maintenance shrub or hedge is desired. Provide a full sun to part shade site in an average to well-drained soil for optimum vigor. Images shown are an example of what to expect with this cultivar but are of the common Walter's Viburnum, Viburnum obovatum. Item# 12730

1" golden yellow daisies sit atop the dark rich green foliage of this durable groundcover. Drought tolerant once established, Wedelia revels in the heat and sun creating a dense 8-12" high mass of foliage, stems and flowers. Evergreen in mild winter climates but may freeze to the ground in the northern portions of its range. Item# 718.

Wide bluish green upright to arching foliage creates a beautiful almost formal evergreen specimen that is topped by large showy clusters of creamy white flowers that adorn the 6-8' high sturdy stems held well above the foliage in summer on mature plants. The Weeping Yucca's, Yucca cernua, nearly formal habit on medium-sized,sometimes multi-trunked, plants making this rare beauty an excellent choice for gardens and landscapes with average to well-drained soils. The white flowers attract hummingbird moths and other pollianators. Young plants may take 3 or more years to begin flowering and the large specimen shown here is about 8-10 years of age in 2020. The Weeping Yucca is still relatively new to science (2003 - Eric Keith) and was only recently determined to be a distinct species that is found only in Newton and Jasper counties of east Texas. Item# 9883

Bright golden yellow daisies top the sturdy and branched, 3-5' stems of this perennial native Sunflower. The Western Sunflower will quickly create a ground-covering colony of plants by multiplying via underground rhizomes. The spent flower stalks hold seeds for songbirds and will die back to the ground in fall but are quickly replaced by a multitude of new rosettes in winter. An easy and durable plant for naturalizing and native to much of the southeastern US. Considered to be one of the least aggressive spreading Sunflowers. Caterpillar host: Milbert's Tortoiseshells. Item# 10240

In late summer and fall, Frostweed produces large flattened clusters of flowers that are used by a variety of pollinators including bees, migrating Monarchs and other butterflies. This is a relatively tall growing rhizomatous native perennial that will develop into a mass of upright stems and flowers. Frostweed, Verbesinca virginica, is typically found growing in moist to periodically dry soils in partly shaded to lightly shaded sites from the Edward's Plateau of west central Texas to Florida and as far north as Missouri and Kentucky. Compared to the very similar species Texas Crownbeard, Verbesina microptera, the Virginia Frostweed has fewer ray flowers (or petals) per flower and is considered to be more reliably cold hardy. Item# 11767