Regional Picks: Tough Roadside Plants – Southeast

1.Blue Mistflower

Name:Conoclinium coelestinum(syn.Eupatorium coelestinum)

USDA Hardiness Zones:5 to 11

sizing : Upto 3 feet improbable and wide

weather : Full sun to partial tone ; fair , well - drain soil

Blue mistflower grows in ditches all over the Southeast , making it a proven roadside plant . Do n’t treat it as a weed , though . Its beautiful blue - purple flower blush on wet root in mid- to late summer through fall . It fan out by source but has n’t misbehaved in my garden , providing just enough division to partake with others . It also form a great cut blossom to pair with a bit of Queen Anne ’s lace ( Daucus carota , Zones 3–9 ) .

2. Tennessee Coneflower

Name:Echinacea tennesseensis

Zones:3to9

Size:2to3feet tall and2 feetwide

Tennessee coneflower is a rarified mountain in the wild , but I ’ve grow it successfully for several year . It loves the full sun that roadside propose and is adaptable to a ambit of conditions . Its dark mauve - pink heyday have upturned , ray of light - make petals — very distinct from other coneflower — and attract visitor and passersby alike . Keep it away from other coneflower to avoid hybrid - pollination .

3. Maximilian Sunflower

Name:Helianthusmaximiliani

Zones:4 to9

sizing : Up to 10feet tall and4 to 5 animal foot wide

Conditions : Full sun;average , well - drained filth

Maximilian sunflower is often found acquire in roadside expanse , in open fields , and along fencerows from Canada to Texas . Its hardy , fibrous ascendent system will form colonies of bright , cheery yellow blooms in summertime , allow raft of pollen for butterfly and bees . Its seeds are a paradise for goldfinches . Though tall and floppy in the wind , plants can be managed by cutting them midway down in other summertime .

4. White Beardtongue

Name:Penstemon digitalis

Zones:3 to 8

Size:2to4feet tall and 1 to 2 animal foot wide-eyed

Conditions : Full sun to fond shade ; median , well - drained soil

White beardtongue is a tough , long - lived perennial . It ’s aboriginal to many sphere in the United States , but the plants in my garden were wreak here by my begetter from a plant- and rock - purchasing tripper to Arkansas . He transplanted a few plant life in the pace and then scatter some seeds . Now , 40 age later , a beautiful stand of white flowers salad days on stiff , tall stems in former May and early June . clean beardtongue transplants well in most gardens but also grows well in containers .

Rita Randolph owns and operate Randolph ’s Greenhouses in Jackson , Tennessee .

Photos : ( 1 and 4 ) , Jerry Pavia ; ( 2 ) , Bill Johnson ; ( 3 ) , courtesy of Jeff McMillian , USDA - NRCS Plants Database

Get our late bakshis , how - to article , and instructional videos sent to your inbox .

sign you up …

Regional Picks: Tough Roadside Plants - Northeast

Regional Picks: Tough Roadside Plants - Midwest

Regional Picks: Tough Roadside Plants - Southern Plains

Regional Picks: Tough Roadside Plants—Southwest

Join Fine Gardening for a free operate live webinar featuring Dr. Janna Beckerman , a renowned plant diagnostician as well as professor emerita at Purdue University and the ornamentals technical manager …

When I distinguish a particular sand clam cactus ( Astrophytum asterias ) at the Philadelphia Flower Show a few months ago , I knew I was in trouble . With a delicious color pattern …

When we only prioritise plants we want over plant our landscape needs , each time of year is filled with a never - terminate list of job : pruning , pinching , tearing , treating , amend , and fertilizing , with …

Video

Touring an Eco-friendly, Shady Backyard Retreat

You must be measured when you enter the backyard of garden house decorator Jeff Epping — not because you ’re probable to stumble on something , but because you might be dive - bombed by a pair …