Tuesday, November 28, 2017

Corkwood - Stillingia aquatica


Corkwood (Stillingia aquatica) is a semi-woody shrub found nearly statewide in Florida in shallow-water marshes and the edges of freshwater swamps.  It also is reported to occur in Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina. Unlike is close relative, Queen's delight (S. sylvatica), corkwood is an obligate wetland plant that is never found in habitats that are only seasonally wet. It also does not die back to the ground in the winter, though it loses its foliage.
Corkwood reaches a mature height of about 4 feet on thin woody stems. The bark is a dull rusty red in color. The foliage is mostly confined to the ends of the stems. This gives it a rather open aspect. The 6-12 inch-long leaves are narrow with a prominent mid-vein. The edges of the leaf margins have small, but conspicuous teeth and often are edged in red.
As a member of the Euphorbia family, the individual flowers are not especially showy.  For one, they lack petals completely. A few female flowers are clustered at the base of the 2-3 inch-long stalk while the numerous male flowers are spaced above. Flowering occurs over a protracted period from late spring to fall. The ripened seed capsules are three-parted and they "explode" when fully ripe - sending the seeds several feet away in random directions.
I have never seen corkwood offered for sale by any of the nurseries affiliated with FANN - the Florida Association of Native Nurseries, though I have sowed seed here at Hawthorn Hill for sale in Spring 2018. It is a very interesting addition to an aquatic planting, but definitely not a showy one. Use it in the shallow-water margins of lake and marsh plantings. I would plant this in small clusters for maximum effect and mix it with showier wildflowers such as native canna (Canna flaccida) and iris (Iris spp.). Bees are attracted to the small greenish flowers

Sunday, November 26, 2017

Yellow passionvine - Passiflora lutea



Yellow passionvine (Passiflora lutea) is native to the Florida panhandle and a very few counties in the upper peninsula. It also is found throughout the South and Midwest from Texas and Nebraska to Maryland and Pennsylvania on the East Coast. Throughout this extended range, it is most often encountered in the understory of deciduous woodlands in moist to mesic conditions.
In many respects, yellow passionvine occupies the same role (niche) as winged maypop (P. suberosa) does in the rest of Florida. It can go largely unnoticed in the landscape when butterflies are not fluttering about it. The leaves are three-lobed, but much wider than long and often with silvery markings along the leaf veins - best seen in the top photo. Flowering occurs in late spring and summer, and as the name suggests, the blooms are a pale yellow in color. Each flower is small and can go unnoticed. Deep-purple fruit follow about a month later.
Yellow passionvine is the preferred host plant for zebra heliconian butterflies in north Florida for much the same reasons as winged maypop fills this role further south. Gulf fritillary butterflies will use it also if the plant extends itself into a sunny location.
This passionvine is only rarely offered for sale by nurseries affiliated with the Florida Association of Native Nurseries (FANN), but it is sometimes offered by native nurseries to our immediate north. I have not had success with this species in my Pinellas County landscape and do not recommend it for locations outside its natural range.  If you decide to grow it, plant it in a rich woodland soil, in dappled light. Over time, it will spread by underground stems and by bird-planted fruit.

Winged maypop - Passiflora suberosa


Winged maypop (Passiflora suberosa) is found throughout peninsular Florida in a wide variety of habitats. Though not a showy wildflower (and therefore sometimes overlooked), its presence is often detected by the flurry of butterfly activity around it.  Winged maypop is equally at home in mostly sunny openings as well as mostly shaded woodlands and it is widely distributed by birds into all of these locations as they feed on its small purple fruit. 
Named for the corky "wings" along its mature stems (visible in the top photo), winged maypop works its way up and around nearby vegetation - extending a dozen or more feet away from its base. Like other passionvines, it has tendrils that aid its ability to climb securely. The small glossy leaves are variable in shape, but always three-lobed with a deep vein running the length of each.
Flowering occurs from late spring through fall. The tiny pale flowers are typical for the genus, but can go largely unnoticed because of their size. They are pollinated by bees and fertilized flowers form round deep-purple fruit that ripen about a month later. They are about 1/4-1/3 inch long. As mentioned above, they are widely fed on by songbirds and the seed are, therefore, widely scattered as well.
This wildflower would largely be considered an afterthought among wildflower gardeners if not for the fact that it is essential in a butterfly garden. Because it does well in dappled sun, this is the best host plant for the zebra heliconion (aka zebra longwing) in much of Florida. As zebras typically shun sunny areas to lay their eggs, most other passionvines are rarely used by them. The exception is yellow passionvine (P. lutea) which fills this role in the Florida panhandle counties. Winged maypop does well in sunny locations too, and in this setting it serves as a host for the caterpillars of Gulf fritillary and julia butterflies.
Winged maypop is likely to already be in your landscape - or to show up someday unannounced, but it is widely propagated by native plant nurseries if you wish to add it yourself.  I think it does best in average soil where it gets partial sun. If you can introduce it to a location where it can grow in both shady and sunny directions, it will maximize its value as a larval food plant.

Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Fall Open House - Sorry for the late notice





I will have these, and more, available on Sunday October 29 at our Fall Open House.  If you want a complete plant list, email me at huegelc55@aol.com.  We will be open from 9 am until 1 pm.  9900 133rd St, Seminole, FL  33776

Friday, April 14, 2017

Spring Open House Date Is Set

Alexa and I have finally set a date for our Spring Open House & we hope you can join us. Many of the wildflowers that we have ready right now are in limited supply and more will be ready by fall - hopefully.
I have added the list below - Plants marked as "Sp" are new seedlings from last fall's seed. They are a bit small, but healthy and ready for new homes.
Our Open house is:
Saturday, April 29
9 am - 1 pm
We are located at 9900 133rd St, Seminole (Pinellas County) 33776
Call if you have questions: (727) 422-6583
We also are open by appointment if you can't make the sale






Wildflower Availability –Spring 2017


Allium canadense
Meadow garlic
Now
Amorpha fruticosa
False indigo
Sp
Amorpha herbacea
Herbaceous false indigo
Now
Andropogon ternarius
Splitbeard bluestem
Sp
Arisaema triloba
Jack-in-the-pulpit
Sp
Asclepias humistrata
Purple milkweed
Small
Bonamia grandiflora
Bonamia
Not Available
Callirhoe papaver
Poppy mallow
Not Available
Calydorea caelestina
Bartram’s ixia
Not available
Capsicum annuum
 Bird pepper
Now
Carphephorus corymbosus
Florida paintbrush
Not available
Carphephorus odoritissimus
Vanilla plant
Not available
Chrysoma paucifloculosa
Woody goldenrod
Not available
Chrysopsis linearifolia
Narrow-leaved goldenaster
Sp
Chrysopsis mariana
Maryland goldenaster
Sp
Clematis baldwinii
Pine hyacinth
Now
Clematis crispa
Fairy hats
Now
Conradina grandiflora x etonia
Natural hybrid false rosemary
Ask
Cordia globosa
Bloodberry
Now
Dalea carnea
Pink prairieclower
Ask
Dalea feayi
Scrub prairieclover
Ask
Dalea pinnata
Summer farewell
Ask
Echinacea purpurea
Purple coneflower
Sp
Eryngium aquaticum
Blue rattlesnake master
Sp
Fragaria virginiana
Wild strawberry
Not Available
Gaillardia aestivalis
Lance-leaved blanketflower
Sp
Garberia heterophylla
Garberia
Not Available
Helianthus carnosus
Lakeside sunflower
Not Available - Fall
Helianthus radula
Rayless sunflower
Now
Helianthus resinosus
Resindot sunflower
Sp
Hibiscus coccineus
Scarlet hibiscus
Sp
Hibiscus furcellatus
Lindenleaf rosemallow
Now
Hibiscus poeppigii
Poeppig's rosemallow
Now
Liatris chapmanii
Chapman’s blazing star
Sp
Liatris elegans
Elegant blazing star
Not Available
Liatris gracilis
Graceful blazing star
Sp
Liatris provincialis
Godfrey’s blazing star
Not available
Liatris savannenesis
Savanna blazing star
Now
Nemastylis floridana
Celestial lily/Fall ixia
Sp
Nolina brittoniana
Britton’s beargrass
Now
Ocimum campechianum
Native basil
Sp
Palafoxia integrifolia
Coastal plain palafox
Sp
Passiflora pallida
Pale passionvine
Not available - Fall
Phlox pilosa
Downy phlox
Now
Phoebanthus grandiflorus
Phoebanthus
Now
Ratbiida pinnata
Yellow coneflower
Now
Rudbeckia mohrii
Mohr’s coneflower
Now
Rubbeckia mollis
Softhair coneflower
Sp
Rudbeckia triloba
Brown-eyed susan
Ask
Scutellaria arenicola
Scrub skullcap
Not Available
Smallanthus uvedalia
Hairy leafcup/Bear's paw
Not Available
Solidago arguta var. caroliniana
Carolina goldenrod
Now
Solidago caesia
Wreath goldenrod
Not available
Solidago petiolaris
Downy ragged goldenrod
Ask
Solidago stricta
Wand goldenrod
Now
Sorghastrum apalachicolense
Apalachicola Indiangrass
Sp
Sorghastrum nutans
Indiangrass
Sp
Sorghastrum secundum
Lop-sided Indiangrass
Sp
Stokesia laevis
Stoke’s aster
Not Available - Fall
Symphyotricum concolor
Silver aster
Not available
Symphyotrichum georgianum
Georgia aster
Not available
Symphyotrichum patens
Late purple aster
Not available
Symphyotrichum walteri
Walter's aster
Now
Thalictrum revolutum
Wavy-leaved meadowrue
Now
Tiedemannia filiformis
Water dropwort
Sp
Viola soraria (white form)
Common blue violet
Now
Zephyranthes simpsonii
Simpson’s rain lily
Not available - Fall
All 4” pots @ $4 each.
(727) 422-6583

I currently have these trees/shrubs as small seedlings: ASK – Price vary
Scrub hickory (Carya floridana), Chapman oak (Quercus chapmanii), Tough bumelia (Sideroxylon tenax), Rusty bumelia (Sideroxylon rufotomentosa), Silk bay (Persea humilis), Fringetree (Chionanthus virginicus)

I currently have a very few 1-gallon trees available also: Fringe tree (Chionanthus virginicus), Southern crabapple (Malus angustifolius), one-flowered haw (Crataegus uniflora), Summer haw (Crataegus flava).