Native plants in snow

By Betty Struckhoff

I hope some of you enjoyed Ed’s recent post of Wildflowers in Snow as much as I did.  If you would like to try some new stumpers, here are photos I took on January 9, 2014.

I will admit that I would be stumped by some of these if I hadn’t taken the pictures. If you can get three or four right, I think you’re doing well.  I’ll post the answers next Sunday, Jan. 19.

There’s always something going on in the garden!

6 Comments

  1. Brian
    January 11, 2014 at 1:47 pm

    You’re making this difficult! 🙂 Here are my guesses:
    1. American Holly
    2. Buckeye
    3. ??
    4. Sumac
    5. Witch hazel
    6. Eastern red-cedar
    7. ??
    8. Aster (New England?)
    9. Goldenrod
    10. Little bluestem
    11. River oats
    12. Ash
    13. ??
    14. Dogwood
    15. ??
    16. ??

  2. Kathy Bildner
    January 11, 2014 at 4:00 pm

    Thanks Betty.
    The witch hazel should be blooming soon.
    I agree with Brian. The tree with the smoother bark might be tulip poplar.
    Kathy Bildner

    • Fran Glass
      January 11, 2014 at 9:05 pm

      1. American Holly
      2. Red Buckeye
      3.
      4.
      5. Ozark Witch Hazel, Hamamelis vernalis

      • Fran Glass
        January 11, 2014 at 9:08 pm

        6.
        7. Palm Sedge
        8.
        9
        10. Little Bluestem
        11. River Oats
        12. Hackberry
        13.
        14a. Pagoda Dogwood, Cornus alternifolia
        15. Wild Hydrangea
        16. River Oats

        • Ed Schmidt
          January 13, 2014 at 3:02 pm

          1. American holly
          2
          3. witchhazel
          4
          5 wahoo
          6 Eastern red cedar
          7 palm sedge
          8 iroweed
          9
          10. little bluestem
          11. river oats
          12
          13 a sedge or rush
          14 dogwood
          15 hydrangea
          16

  3. Betty
    January 18, 2014 at 2:58 pm

    OK, here are the answers:
    1. American Holly –Ilex opaca. At least I think that’s what this volunteer is. It’s native to the very southern part of the state.
    2. Red Buckeye — Aesculus Pavia. I just love when the big, gorgeous compound leaves unfurl in the spring.
    3. Downy Skullcap — Scutellaria incana. The stumper. A gift from the birds under my Hickory tree. Its purple flowers brighten up a very shady spot in summer. Scutellaria means “small disk:, describing what’s left of the flower in winter.
    4. Paw Paw — Asimina triloba. I love the smooth bark and have successfully forced the blooms indoors in early spring.
    5. Ozark (or Spring) Witchhazel — Hamamelis vernalis. Yes, this will be blooming in a few weeks. The flowers feed an early hatching fly and I suppose their larvae feed the birds in spring. The cycle begins anew!
    6. Red Cedar — Juniper virginia. The best bird plant in our yard. The path between it and our feeders is very well beaten.
    7. Palm Sedge — Carex muskingumensis. Great year round foliage
    8. Ironweed — Veronia spp. Maybe Ed remembers the seedhead from the Wild Ones meeting in Maplewood some years ago. I just love the tawny color, like a deer’s coat. The deep purple flower is beautiful, especially when contrasted with a Tiger Swallowtail.
    9. Showy Goldenrod — Solidago speciosa. A great flower to feed the migrating monarchs and this species doesn’t get so tall.
    10. Little Bluestem — Schizachyrium scoparium. I believe it was James Trager who pointed out the lovely apricot color in winter at a Wild Ones tour of Glenda’s place near Pacific.
    11. River Oats — Chasmanthium latifolium. Aggressive in moist shade but a lovely winter plant nevertheless.
    12. Ash — Fraxinus spp. I believe this is a Green Ash. I read that our very cold temps could kill a lot of Emerald Ash borer larvae. Let’s hope!
    13. Soft Rush — Juncus effuses. Wonderful evergreen texture plant.
    14. Pagoda Dogwood — Cornus alternifolia. Still my favorite four-season plant. Note the alternate branching.
    15. Native Hydrangea — Hydrangea aborescens.
    16. American Beakgrain — Diarrhena obovata. I planted this by the front porch for winter interest. The jury’s still out. It hasn’t filled in much in the shade and flops in the winter. But I do love the look in summer.

    One final thought. Of these 16 plants only three are “wildflowers.” Grasses, sedges, shrubs and trees do look more interesting in winter. By planting them we’ll be enjoying our landscape in all seasons and also creating more diversity for nature’s web.

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