Get growing!
Look for these symbols to help you select plants that
are suitable for your geographic location and soil and
light conditions. They will also help you choose plants
based on other factors, such as color and season of
bloom, as well as what type of pollinators you would
like to attract to your landscape.
Bloom
season
Blooms primarily in spring
Blooms primarily in summer
Blooms primarily in fall
Blooms primarily in winter
Light
Can take full sun
Does well in partial sun/shade
Is shade-tolerant
Soil
moisture
Can tolerate dry soil conditions
Can tolerate dry to moist soils
Is adapted for wet soils
Habit This is the average height of a mature plant.
Wildlife
Plant is a source of nectar, seeds or other
use
insects, or is a larval host plant.
Bloom
color
White Pink Red
Orange Yellow Green
Blue Purple Brown
This color key is meant as a general guide; exact colors of blooms will vary.
Selection
It may take a while to understand your landscape’s soil and drainage
conditions. If your wildowers don’t succeed, try again, maybe with
different species. Remember, success depends on using the right
plant in the right place.
Water
Water plants thoroughly when planting, then water as needed until
they are established and putting out new foliage. Once plants are
established, irrigation should be needed only during extended dry
periods. Learn to recognize when plants look wilted and water them
then. Over-irrigation can cause fungus and rot, which can kill your
wildowers. It can also cause them to grow too uickly, making them
susceptible to pests and diseases, or too tall, reuiring staking.
Fertilizer
ative wildowers should not need fertilizer. pplying fertilizer can
produce plants that grow too uickly, which can lead them to become
pest and disease prone, and too tall, reuiring staking. ertilizing also
encourages weeds, which may out-compete wildowers.
If you want wildowers to persist on their own in your landscape,
you’ll need to allow for self-seeding, especially for annual or shortlived
species. Keep open, lightly mulched areas available for seed
to germinate. You also can collect seed and plant it where you
want it. When seeds germinate, you’ll need to recognize wildower
sprouts so you don’t pull them out when weeding. To download a
document showing some common wildower seedlings, visit www.
laWildowers.orgplanting.
any wildowers are deciduous, dying back in the winter, particularly
in colder areas of the state. Don’t plant over them before they resprout
in the spring, and don’t weed them out when they sprout. Mark
areas with deciduous plants so you can be on the lookout for their
seasonal comeback.
Mulch
We recommend lorida pine straw. To help prevent weed germination
in the rst month or two after planting, you can apply a - to -inch
layer of mulch, but keep it away from the base of the plants. Once
plants are established and before they fully ower, carefully reduce
the mulch to a thin layer. Too much mulch can contribute to fungal
and rot problems. To promote self-seeding, spread mulch thinly
enough so that you can see the soil below.
Hardiness zones
Information on hardiness zones is included for each species. To see
which zone your home or project is in, see the map on the inside
back cover.
Botanical terms
or denitions of botanical terms, visit
en.wikipedia.orgwikilossaryofbotanicalterms.
This publication was produced by the lorida Wildower oundation W with support from the tanley mith orticultural Trust. unding also was provided by
the tate Wildower license plate. W is grateful to the lorida ssociation of ative urseries for its participation. lorida Wildower oundation.
over photo credits clockwise from upper left Landscape with Dune sunower Helianthus debilis by Lisa Roberts inebarren goldenrod Solidago
stulosa by Ryan rown lanketower Gaillardia pulchella by Dara Dobson and Monarch with ink milkweed Asclepias incarnata by eg rban.
/glossary of botanical terms