Hard To Find Plant Species Available This Fall

Posted on August 30, 2023 by Katie Schmidt

Due to the diligent nursery work of our suppliers, and a bit of searching on my part, we will have interesting new species to offer at our fall FloraKansas event, as well as some old favorites that have been missing from our inventory for awhile. We love to offer an ever-widening selection of hard-to-find natives to plant enthusiasts in our area!

Rosa blanda

Smooth rose is an easy-care native rose found in pastures from Canada to Maine and as far southwest as Kansas. Grows in clay, loam or sandy soils and likes full to part sun. Nearly thornless, this rose is much friendlier than other roses with just a few prickles at the base of older stems. Light pink blooms are visited by bees, and the rose hips of fall are eaten by various forms of wildlife.

*Photo public domain from Wikimedia Commons*

Scrophularia marilandica

Since its blooms are small and unassuming, you may have never noticed S. marilandica. I hope that changes! Figwort is tall with a many-branched flower spike. It is a boon for pollinators, and though it may seem spindly and weak its impact for bees is anything but. Native to the eastern third of the state and throughout the eastern US, it likes part sun to shade and a medium to moist soil.

*S. marilandica, also known as figwort from Wikimedia Commons*

Euonymus atropurpurecens and Sassafras albidum

These two trees have a lot in common: they have vibrant red fall color, they thrive in partial shade and moist soil, and are native to the eastern US. As we are on the edge of their native range, they need extra watering through the Kansas summer.

There are lots of nasty invasives with the name ‘Euonymus’, but described here is the native North American species. Also known as Eastern Wahoo this small tree grows 8-10′ tall in our area, sporting burgundy spring blooms and lantern-like fruits in fall.

Sassafras fits into similar landscaping situations, though it can get a bit larger. In ideal conditions it can be 60 feet tall, but on dry upland sites here in Kansas it will commonly grow to 15-25 ft. There is simply no match for its fall color and lovely variable leaf shapes. Both of these woody species form suckers if happily situated. Be prepared to mow around them or let them spread into a grove.

*Fruits of a Wahoo tree, from Wikipedia*

*Range map of E. atropurpureus available through BoNAp.org*

At our fall FloraKansas event next week we will also have Bladdernut trees (Staphylea trifolia), Chickasaw plums (Prunus angustifolia) and Prickly Pear Cactus (Opuntia macrorhiza). I am excited to add these species to our growing list of natives for the plant lovers of central Kansas.

Are there plants you wish you could purchase but can’t find them anywhere? Please send us your requests and we will seek them out for future years of FloraKansas.

Garden Spotlight: Matrix Planting in Austria

Posted on August 23, 2023 by Janelle Flory Schrock

I can’t seem to go on vacation nowadays without being stopped in my tracks when I see examples of habitat gardening. I don’t know if it’s just a result of working at the Dyck Arboretum for over ten years, or a function of having been bit by the native plant bug (pun intended). Either way, I want to share with you an excellent example of drought-tolerant, wildlife-friendly plants being utilized in an urban setting.

This summer I visited Vienna, Austria and the surrounding areas, and was struck by several really well-designed perennial gardens. For example, while waiting for a bus, a matrix planting along a hospital accessibility entrance ramp caught my attention.

*I was delighted to see a matrix planting utilizing familiar (to me) perennials outside a clinic in Donaustadt, Austria.*

In the 10 minutes we were at the bus stop, my mind (and my camera) took in as much as they could. I immediately set out to identify how the landscape architect had successfully employed the design principles I’ve heard repeated time and again by my co-workers in their Native Plant School classes.

If you’re not familiar with matrix planting, it’s a landscape design style, popularized by Dutch landscape architect Piet Oudolf. Famous North American gardens using matrix planting include public garden spaces such as “The High Line” in New York City and Lurie Garden in Chicago.

In this particular landscape, I could easily identify the three layers of the matrix: the structural layer, the seasonal interest layer and the ground cover layer. In the structural layer, several small shade trees and a few larger perennials anchored the corners of the planting and in some cases softened particularly sharp edges of the hardscaping.

*Black-eyed susan and aster blooms provided a nice complementary color scheme.*

The seasonal interest layer included repeated blocks of switchgrass, feather reed grass, black-eyed susan, yarrow, asters, ornamental onion, tickseed, and others. Groundcover plants were interspersed throughout for weed management, particularly along the edges of the walkway.

*Repeated patterns along the walkway provided both visual and sensory stability.*

In addition to its visual impact, I also couldn’t ignore the sensory and emotional function that this garden was fulfilling. As my friends and I waited for the bus, we couldn’t help but walk over to feel the softness of the grasses. This planting certainly engaged multiple senses of passersby – providing a welcome contrast to the hardness of the concrete structures that surround it.

*The layers of plants soften the edges of this walkway, but also give patrons of the clinic something interesting to look at and feel as they enter and exit the building.*

There was also a rooftop garden that I imagine is a spacious area for visitors and patients to relax and connect with nature. I didn’t have enough time to run up to it, but I was able to identify switchgrass and Mexican feathergrass from below.

*A rooftop garden was also visible from the street.*

I was so very encouraged by my habitat garden sighting in Vienna. It’s a wonderful feeling to travel and see examples where someone, at some point, must have had the courage to speak up and say “Why don’t we plant a habitat garden here?” It will have a positive impact on our public and our neighborhood, but also on the environment.

We continue to receive more inquiries here at the Arboretum from all sorts of places: not only homeowners and homeowners associations, but also from for profit and not for profit business entities, and from churches, libraries and schools. The collective impact you are making in your communities is awe-inspiring. Keep it up and continue to share with us your habitat gardening challenges and successes!

Very Hungry Caterpillars

Posted on August 9, 2023 by Katie Schmidt

No, this is not the start of an Eric Carle children’s book. It’s the start of a blog post all about gregarious feeders! Unlike the lone green caterpillar of the book that goes chomping through fruits and cakes and slices of salami, some caterpillars can be seen feeding and living in large groups, and as such are labeled ‘gregarious’. We have found many of these fascinating species on our grounds.

Tussock Moth

Milkweed is famously host to monarch caterpillars, but many other species depend on it as well. The tussock moth caterpillar is a crazy-haired and charismatic species that seems to appear out of nowhere and turn your milkweed plants into skeletons, eating an entire plant in a matter of days!

Euchaetes egle are orange, white and black, reminding me of my grandmother’s calico shag carpet from the ’70s. As nostalgic as that may be, don’t touch! Their hairs are urticating, meaning they break off into skin and cause irritation. The Latin buffs might remember that “urtica” translates to “nettle”. It is best to let them devour the plants and go on their merry way.

What about the monarchs? Will there by any milkweed left for them? The solution is always to plant more! Try several different species of milkweed to diversify your selection and increase the available habitat.

Walnut Moth Caterpillar

Just last week I noticed a black caterpillar with wispy white hairs crawling along the sidewalk near our greenhouse. Just as I stooped to get a closer look, I saw another. And another. They were everywhere! Crawling every direction on the sidewalk, in the grass, over the rocks and up the side of the building. I followed them back to their host tree, a young walnut. These were walnut moth caterpillars, Datana intergerrimma. There I found a wiggling mass of hairy caterpillars on the trunk. They hatch on the leaves, defoliate the tree with their voracious appetites, then travel down the trunk to disperse and find a bit of open soil to dig in and pupate.

Checkerspot Butterfly

In early June we get lots of calls asking “what is feeding on my Echinacea and sunflowers, and how do I kill it?”. It is usually checkerspot butterfly larvae. These small black caterpillars are lined with tufts of black hair, and they can turn leaves to lace right before your eyes! They host on plants in the Asteraceae family, and their favorites seem to be annual sunflowers and Echinacea purpurea. Through all the years we have had major populations feeding here at the Arb, our Echinacea flowers are doing just fine with no pesticide treatment. They look a little rough for a time, but recover quickly and pop up healthy and green the next spring.

Next time you see a mass of caterpillars feeding on your trees or flowers, don’t reach for the bug spray! Use a tool like the Seek app, or BugGuide.net to properly identify them. If they are native, let them continue to eat and fulfill their ecological role!

Remember, native host plants and native insects have been evolving together for thousands of years. They battle, and sometimes even benefit each other in ways we are still studying today.