6 Chapter 6: Mid Season Blooming Native Flowers
This sixth chapter describes the mid season blossoming flowers present within the Penn State Schuylkill Certified Native Pollinator Garden. Information about the plants was obtained from the Missouri Botanical Society website.
Mid Season Blooming Flowers
Asclepias tuberosa (Butterfly Weed)
Butterfly weed prefers full sun and dry to medium water. It is tolerant to erosion, dry and shallow-rocky soil. It self-seeds readily and should not be transplanted due to taproot. It has hairy stems with narrow, lance-shaped leaves reaching 1’ to 3’ high and 1½’ wide. Flowers are clusters of bright orange-yellow blooms appearing from June to August. The nectar is a source for many butterflies and leaves are a food for their larvae.
Potential Problems: Crown rot can be a problem in wet, poorly drained soils and susceptible to rust and leaf spot.
Monarda didyma (Bee Balm)
Bee balm desires full sun to part shade, medium to wet water soil; however, it can tolerate clay soil. It prefers rich, humus soils in full sun. It has square stems clad with opposite, ovate to ovate-lanceolate, medium to deep green leaves reaching 2’ to 4’ high and 2’ to 3’ wide. Flowers are tubular, two-lipped, bright scarlet-red flowers crowded into dense, globular, terminal flower heads and blooms from July to August. In addition, plant foliage declines after bloom. Bees, hummingbirds and butterflies are attracted to this plant.
Requires: Watering, soil should not dry out and dead heading
Potential Problems: Powdery mildew happens with crowded gardens and poor airflow. In addition, if not adequately watered the plants becomes more susceptible to disease. Rust (fugal disease) can also be a problem.
Asclepias syriaca (Common Milkweed)
Common millweed prefers full sun, medium to wet soil, and can tolerate drought, erosion, dry soil, and shallow-rocky soil. It will self-seed, grows well, and expands rapidly. It grows 3’ to 4’ tall and 2’ to 3’ wide, and has upright stems with thick, broad oblong, reddish-veined, light green leaves. It has drooping clusters of pinkish-purple flowers in the upper axils and blooms from late June to August. The nectar is a source for many butterflies and leaves are a food for their larvae.
Eutrochium purpureum (Sweet Joe Pye Weed)
Sweet Joe Pye Weed requires full sun to partial shade, medium water, and can tolerate clay and wet soil. It prefers wet, humus soil that does not dry out because leaves may scorch if soil gets dry. It has coarsely serrated, lance-shaped, dark green leaves in whorls of 3 to 4 on sturdy green stems with purplish leaf nodes and grows 6’ to 7’ tall and 2’ to 4’ wide. In addition, it blooms from July to September with dull pink flowers that attract to butterflies.
Requires: moist soil