Kathy Bildner shared these photos of frost flowers on White Crownbeard (Verbesina virginica) in her backyard. Click an image for a larger version.
The plant gets 4 to 5 feet tall. It grows from seed easily. It can be aggressive so I cut some of the flower heads off, leaving only the stems to form the frost flowers in the winter. They form the first few cold days. Once the moisture is out of the stem the frost flowers cannot form again until next year. Read more about frost flowers on Wikipedia.
This is the plant blooming in September.
Has anyone else seen frost flowers this year?
Hi,
I haven’t seen any frost flower yet this year, but I was wondering if you knew what species of wasp you photographed on the blooms.
Bill
Bill, I do not know the type of wasp on the crownbeard flower but it seemed to prefer these small flowers. It stayed around all summer. It liked the small flowers on the Indian Plantain too.
I submitted this photo to BugGuide.net, and they identified it as a Blue-Winged Wasp, Scolia dubia: http://bugguide.net/node/view/480286.
We have frost flowers as I write this. However, mine are on Dittany (Cunila origanoides), which have purple flowers and are about 12-15″ tall. It is a special treat to have these in the winter. It is also great to now know another plant which produces frost flowers!
Kathy, thanks for your frost flower photos and blog. I, too, am a frost flower enthusiast and have been delighted to have them in my backyard for the first time this winter. They were the feature of two of my recent blogs.
http://www.bettyhallphotography.com/blog/frost-flowers/
http://www.bettyhallphotography.com/blog/frost-flowers-2/
I’m also a Wild Ones enthusiast (member of the Lexington, KY chapter) and I’m impressed with your chapter’s website.