Wake Up to Wildflowers
Steve Bender, The Grumpy Gardener
By Steve Bender
Plant Fresh Wildflowers
Credit: Van Chaplin
Here's how to grow beloved native plants—now blooming all across the South.
Plant Fresh Wildflowers
Plant Fresh Wildflowers
Credit: Van Chaplin
Is there anyone out there who doesn't love wildflowers? If so, send us your name immediately, because you are in dire need of an intervention.
Unlike daffodils from Europe and spider lilies from Japan, the South's true wildflowers were born on our ground. But the South is a big region. Just because a wildflower is native to one part, that doesn't mean it'll grow in another. Use this guide to find out where, when, and how to grow some of the South's most iconic wildflowers.
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Virginia Bluebell (Mertensia virginica)
Virginia Bluebell (Mertensia virginica)
Credit: Photo: Allen Rokach
- Light: light shade.
- Soil: moist, fertile, and well drained.
- Type: perennial.
- Height: 18-24 inches.
- Plant in: spring or fall.
- Deer resistance: excellent.
- Grows: Upper to Lower South.
- Buy it: sunlightgardens.com
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Piedmont Azalea (Rhododendron canescens)
Piedmont Azalea, Rhododendron canescens
Credit: Photo: Ralph Lee Anderson
- Light: light shade.
- Soil: acid, fertile, well drained, and moist.
- Type: shrub.
- Height: 8-10 feet.
- Plant in: spring or fall.
- Deer resistance: moderate.
- Grows: Upper to Coastal South.
- Buy it: woodlanders.net
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Dakota Verbena (Glandularia bipinnatifida)
Dakota Verbena (Glandularia bipinnatifida)
Credit: Photo: Ralph Lee Anderson
- Light: full to part sun.
- Soil: well drained.
- Type: perennial.
- Height: 8-15 inches.
- Plant in: spring or fall using seeds or plants.
- Deer resistance: excellent.
- Grows: All South.
- Buy it: seedsource.com
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Indian Pink (Spigelia marilandica)
Indian Pink (Spigelia marilandica)
Credit: Photo: Ralph Lee Anderson
- Light: sun or light shade.
- Soil: moist, acid, fertile, and well drained.
- Type: perennial.
- Height: 1-2 feet.
- Plant in: spring or fall.
- Deer resistance: Low.
- Grows: Upper to Coastal South.
- Buy it: sunlightgardens.com
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Bluebonnet (Lupinus sp.)
Bluebonnet (Lupinus sp.)
Credit: Photo: Ralph Lee Anderson
- Light: sun.
- Soil: gritty, alkaline, infertile, and well drained.
- Type: self-sowing annual.
- Height: 1 foot.
- Plant in: fall using seeds.
- Grows: Texas and the arid Southwest.
- Deer resistance: moderate.
- Buy it: wildseedfarms.com
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Blanket Flower (Gaillardia aristata)
Blanket Flower (Gaillardia aristata)
Credit: Photo: Ralph Lee Anderson
- Light: sun.
- Soil: well drained and infertile.
- Type: perennial.
- Height: 2½ feet.
- Plant in: spring or fall.
- Deer resistance: excellent.
- Grows: All South.
- Buy it: wildseedfarms.com
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White Trillium(Trillium grandiflorum)
White Trillium (Trillium grandiflorum)
Credit: Photo: Allen Rokach
- Light: shade.
- Soil: moist, fertile, and well drained.
- Type: perennial.
- Height: 12-18 inches.
- Plant in: summer or fall.
- Deer resistance: moderate to good.
- Grows: Upper to Lower South.
- Buy it: sunlightgardens.com
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Dahlberg Daisy (Thymophylla tenuiloba)
Dahlberg Daisy (Thymophylla tenuiloba)
Credit: Photo: Ralph Lee Anderson
- Light: sun.
- Soil: well drained; not fussy about soil.
- Type: self-sowing annual.
- Height: 1 foot.
- Plant in: fall to early spring using seeds.
- Deer resistance: excellent.
- Grows: All South.
- Buy it: parkseed.com
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Toadshade (Trillium sessile)
Toadshade (Trillium sessile)
Credit: Photo: Van Chaplin
- Light: shade.
- Soil: moist, fertile, and well drained.
- Type: perennial.
- Height: 1 foot.
- Plant in: summer or fall.
- Deer resistance: moderate to good.
- Grows: Upper to Lower South.
- Buy it: diggingdog.com
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By Steve Bender