Select Species

Cultivation Information for Common Species

Scientific Name	Common Name	Plant Type	Flower Season	Flower Color	Height (in flower)	Native Habitat	Uses and Comments
Andropogon brachystachyus	Shortspike Bluestem	Perennial	Summer to fall	Silver to white	2 to 4 feet	Wet pinelands and pond margins	Showy fall flowers; needs to be cut back annually
Andropogon glomeratus var. glaucopsis	Purple Bluestem	Perennial	Summer to fall	Silver to white	2 to 6 feet	Wet to dry pinelands and disturbed areas	Showy fall flowers; needs to be cut back annually
Andropogon glomeratus var. pumilus	Bushy Bluestem	Perennial	Mid-summer to fall	Silver to white	2 to 5 feet	Ditches and other disturbed areas	Showy fall flowers; needs to be cut back annually
Aristida stricta	Wiregrass, Pineland Threeawn	Perennial	Mid to late summer	Cream to tan	2 to 4 feet	Moist flatwoods to dry sand hills	Foliage becomes arching as clump ages
Carphephorus corymbosus	Coastal Plain Chaffhead	Perennial	Mid-summer to early fall	Pinkish purple	2 to 3 feet	Sandy soil in open areas and thin woods	Perfoms best in dry sites
Chamaecrista fasciculata	Partridge Pea	Annual	Mid-summer to mid-fall	Bright Yellow	3+ feet	Dry pinelands and disturbed areas	Readily reseeding annual; hard seed (See "Germinating Wildflowers with Hard Seed" at end of Table)
Conoclinium coelestinum	Blue Mistflower	Perennial	Mid-summer to early fall	Bluish purple	3+ feet	Moist woods and low areas	Spreads readily vegetatively
Coreopsis basalis	Goldenmane Tickseed, Dye Flower	Annual	Mid-spring to very early summer	Yellow	1 to 1 1/2 feet	Meadows, pastures and disturbed areas	Co-exists well with bahiagrass in dry, sandy sites; reliably showy regardless of weather
Coreopsis lanceolata	Lanceleaf Tickseed	Short-lived perennial semi-evergreen to evergreen	Spring	Yellow	1 to 1 1/2 feet	Sandhills; disturbed areas; edges of cypress swamps	Slightly dry to slightly moist site; remove faded blossoms for reflowering
Coreopsis leavenworthii	Leavenworth's Tickseed	Short-lived perennial	Mid-spring to early summer	Yellow	1 to 3 feet	Wet flatwoods and moist disturbed areas	Nearly endemic to Florida (outside of Florida, only occurs in two Alabama counties)
Dalea pinnata	Summer Farewell	Perennial	Late summer to mid-fall	White; becoming mauve-ish as flower ages	2 to 3 feet	Scrub and pinelands	Good for dry, sandy, full sun sites; hard seed (See "Germinating Wildflowers with Hard Seed" at end of Table)
Eupatorium perfoliatum	Common Boneset	Perennial	Mid-summer to mid-fall	White	Up to 5 feet	Flood plains, swamps, bogs, wet meadows	White inflorescences stand out against dark background, for example, when planted in a moist area along a woodland edge
Gaillardia pulchella	Blanketflower; Firewheel; Indian Blanket	Short-lived perennial	Mid-spring to mid-fall	Yellow and red; red; yellow; rose; rarely white	1 to 2 feet	Disturbed areas; sandy open sites	Excellent for dry, sandy, full sun sites; grayish green foliage; can be an aggressive re-seeder
Helenium autumnale	Common Sneezeweed	Perennial	Summer to mid-fall	Yellow	2 to 5 feet	Moist to mesic flatwoods; floodplains	Showy yellow flowers attractive to butterflies
Helianthus radula	Rayless Sunflower	Perennial	Mid-summer to fall	Very dark purple	3 to 4 feet	Moist to mesic pinelands, flatowoods and disturbed areas	A must-have novelty plant for the gardenign enthusiast. Long leafless flower stem terminated by a single "sunflower" lacking petals
Ipomopsis rubra	Standing Cypress	Biennial	Mid-summer to early fall	Red	2 to 5 feet	Dry, well-drained sandy soils	Plant en masse for striking color; tubular flowers attract hummingbirds; infrequently, some plants are annuals
Juncus effusus	Soft Rush	Perennial	Summer	Brownish	1 to 4 feet	Swamps, marshes, bogs, riverbanks	Provides food and groundcover for songbirds and waterfowl
Liatris spicata	Dense Blazing Star	Perennial	Mid-summer to mid-fall	Purple	1 to 5 feet	Moist pinelands, savannahs, and disturbed areas	Performs well under garden conditions as long as soil does not dry out; very attractive to butterflies
Muhlenbergia capillaris	Hairawn Muhly	Perennial	Fall	Purple	2 to 5 feet	Pine flatwoods, beach dunes, disturbed areas	Salt tolerant bunchgrass that performs best in sandy soils; widely used in landscapes
Penstemon multiflorus	Manyflower Beardtongue	Perennial	Mid-spring to early fall	White to white tinged with purple	1 1/2 to 3 feet	Sandhills, and dry pinelands and disturbed areas	High drought tolerance; very attractive spikes of tubular flowers
Phlox drummondii	Drummond Phlox	Annual	Spring	White; pink; purple; red	10 to 20 inches	Pastures andDisturbed areas	Co-exists well with bahiagrass in dry, sandy sites; reliably showy regardless of weather
Rudbeckia hirta	Blackeyed Susan	Short-lived perennial	Mid-spring to fall	Yellow	1 1/2 to 2 feet	Pinelands, prairies, and disturbed areas	Prefers slightly drier sites in northen Florida and slightly moister sites in central and south Florida
Rudbeckia mollis	Softhair Coneflower	Biennial	Summer	Yellow	1 1/2 to 3 feet	Sandhills and disturbed areas	Only plant in sandy, well-drained soil soil; infrequently, some plants are annuals
Sisyrinchium angustifolium	Narrowleaf Blue-eyed Grass	Perennial	Late winter to mid-spring	Blue to bluish purple	Up to 20 inches	Marshes, and moist flatwoods, savannahs, meadows, and disturbed area	Member of the iris family with grass-like foliage; mass planting provides striking wave of blue; flowers tend to close up during afternoons on sunny days
Solidago canadensis	Canada Goldenrod	Perennial	Fall	Yellow	Up to 5 feet	Disturbed areas like fields and roadsides	Cover for wildlife and nectar for butterflies; requires full sun
Solidago odora	Anise Goldenrod	Perennial	Mid-summer to fall	Yellow	Up to 4 feet	Sandhills	Foliage emits anise-like scent when crushed
Tridens flavus	Purple Top	Perennial	Mid-summer to fall	Dark reddish purple	4 to 6 feet	Dry pinewoods, flatwoods, and disturbed areas	Under landscape conditons, a dense bunchgrass with daylily-like foliage
Trifolium reflexum	Buffalo Clover	Annual	Spring	Pinkish red	6 to 10 inches	Mesic to dry open woodlands, meadows, and disturbed areas	Showiest of Florida's two native clovers; hard seed (See "Germinating Wildflowers with Hard Seed" at end of Table)
Vernonia angustifolia	Tall Ironweed	Perennial	Summer to early Fall	Purple	3 to 4 feet	Sandhills, and dry pinelands, open hammocks, and disturbed areas	Butterfly attractor
Vernonia gigantea	Giant Ironweed	Perennial	Summer to mid-fall	Purple	3 to 9 feet	Mesic to moist pinelands, hammocks, edges of woodlands, and disturbed arease	Butterfly attractor
Xyris	Yelloweyed Grass	Perennial	Spring to fall, depending on species	Yellow or white	Up to 28 inches	Moist flatwoods, floodplains,and disturbed areas	Grass-like plant with flowering stem that terminates in a cone-like structure with a yellow or white flower; yellow-flowered species are difficult to distinguish
Germinating Wildflowers with Hard Seed Coats: Seeds have hard, water impermeable seed coats that prevent germination. Lightly abrading the hard seed coats on sandpaper or a concrete surface (“scarification”) for a few seconds will allow the seeds to absorb water and germinate. To test whether the seed coats have been abraded enough, place a few of the abraded seeds in a shallow dish of water. Sufficiently scarified seeds will swell noticeably within an hour or two; swollen seeds must be sown immediately. If most seeds do not swell, repeat the abrasion process and retest. Scarified seeds should be sown within a week or two.