College of Charleston's

Campus Sustainability

Tips on growing these plants

Signature species: Muhlenbergia filipes

Interesting facts

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Asclepias tuberose (Butterfly Weed): Butterfly weed prefers well-drained sandy soils, and will come back year after year without growing out of control. It prefers full sun but will tolerate partial shade, and is slow to emerge in the spring, where it serves as an attraction for butterflies and the caterpillars of the Monarch butterfly.

Aster concolor (Eastern Silver Aster): This native plant requires well drained soil. It will thrive in full sun to partial shade, and the purple flowers it produces each year attract butterflies, while its seeds attract birds.

Aster carolinianus (Climbing Aster): Thriving best in full to partial sun, this plant produces pink and purple blooms in late summer and throughout the fall that are attractive to birds, bees, and butterflies. This plant also requires moist soil and is less tolerable to drought conditions. It will ramble on and through other plants and obstacles, but it is also easily controlled.

Aster cordifolius (Common Blue Wood Aster): This plant works best in average dry or moist soil and full to partial sun. It will flower best with at least three hours of sun a day, and it produces blue flowers in September or October.

Chelone glabra (White Turtlehead): This plant produces white, clustered blooms in the early to late fall and prefers moist or marshy soil. Growing best in full sun to partial shade, this plant is also attractive to butterflies, and is said to be deer resistant.

Coreopsis rosea (Rose Coreopsis): This is a spreading plant that grows best in moist conditions and works well as a ground cover or in hanging baskets. Rose coreopsis produces tiny pink flowers and has very fine and delicate foliage.

Chrysogonum virginicum (Green and Gold): The golden yellow blooms of this plant emerge in both the spring and the fall. An excellent ground cover, this plant thrives in sun or shade, and prefers a moist but well drained soil.

Chasmanthium latifolium (Fish-on-a-Pole): This perennial clump forming grass produces stalks with hanging flat, oat-like seedheads that resemble fish hanging from a pole. This grass can be used as a ground cover and really does well in either full or partial shade, and does best in moist soil. The seedheads can be dried and kept indefinitely in dried floral arrangements.

Equisetum hymale (Scouring Rush): The hollow dark green stems of this plant can reach up to four feet in height. These are very hardy plants and can become invasive when used in landscaping if they are not kept after. Scouring rush prefers full sun to partial shade and moist soil.

Eupatorium dubium (Coastal Joe-pye Weed): Blooming from late summer to early autumn, the pink to purplish flowers of this plant attract butterflies, bees, and beetles. This plant does best in full sun and moist soil and can grow to up to 10 feet tall. Pruning Joe-pye weed back in late spring will help it to bush out more and bloom closer to the ground.

Helianthus angustifolius (Narrowleaf or Swamp Sunflower): This plant does best in full sun. Plants grown in partial sun will grow taller, probably fall over without support, and will not produce as many flowers. This perennial prefers moist soil, dies to the ground after the first freeze and returns in the spring. Cutting the plant back in June will result in bushier growth.

Helenium flexuosum (Southern/Purple Sneezeweed): The blooming branches of this plant grow up to three feet out of a foliage base, and hold yellow flowers with distinct purple heads. Best in full sun, this unique plant will bloom and branch even more if cut back in early summer. Sneezeweed will bloom from June to October, and fares best in moist soils.

Itea virginica (Virginia Willow): This plant grows best in full sun to partial shade in moist soil. Virginia willow blooms in early summer, and displays excellent purplish foliage in the fall.

Kosteletzkya virginica (Seashore Mallow): This plant produces pinkish flowers on 5-6' stems that close up each evening and reappear with a fresh stock the next day from late summer through fall. Best in full to half-day afternoon sun, Seashore Mallow prefers moist or average soils.

Lonicera sempervirens (Coral Honeysuckle): This woody climbing vine is drought tolerate and prefers full sun. The flowers are tube shaped and are usually coral red or bright orange and excellent attractors of butterflies and hummingbirds.

Monarda punctata (Dotted Mint): This is a shrubby, semi-woody plant best suited for wild or meadow gardens, and excellent at attracting butterflies. The flowers are small and inconspicuous, but beautiful and detailed up close. Dotted mint prefers full sun, but will tolerate partial sun, prefers sandy soils, and is drought tolerant.

Parthenium integrifolium (Wild Quinine): Preferring full sun and average to moist soils, this plant is more rough and gangly and best suited to wild or meadow gardens. The blooming stems arrive in June and August, and contain small, white, flat flower clusters.

Pycnanthemum incanum (Mountain Mint): This low maintenance plant can grow up to three feet, and prefers full sun to partial shade and dry to medium moist soils. The blooms appear in July thru September and are generally white or tinged with lavender.

Tradescanthia rosea (Roseling): With pink blooms that appear in mid-spring and continue into mid-fall, this plant prefers sandy soils in full sun to partial shade.

Macbridea caroliniana (Carolina Birds-in-a-nest): This rare plant provides a splash of purplish-pink color in late August. Native to bogs and preferring very moist soil, the flowers of this 1-2' erect plant are distinctive and intricate.

Liatris spicata (Mountain Blazing Star): This plant prefers sunny, moist and well-drained soil. This plant can grow from 2-6 feet, and produces red-purple blooms in summer. Suitable for borders and butterfly gardens, this plant is also excellent for cut flowers. Taller plants may need staking.

Sabatia dodecandra (Larger Marsh Pink): Best in a sunny, wet area, the purple flowers of this underutilized plant are held at the end of long, thin stems. Blooms appear in summer, and are fragrant and attractive.

Rudbeckia fulgida (Goldsturm): Flowering from July to October, the yellow coneflowers of this plant attract butterflies and bees. This plant flowers late into the fall, and is an excellent cut flower. Best in full sun, this plant will need watered in dry conditions.

Baptisia australis (False Blue Indigo): Best in the full sun, this plant grows best in moist soil, but is also drought resistant. This upright perennial can grow to 4 feet tall, and produces blue or violet blooms.

Cercis Canadensis (Eastern Redbud): This is a small to medium-sized ornamental tree that prefers full sun to partial shade and average to moist soils. The chartreuse fall foliage of this tree is a predecessor to purple to lavender blooms in April until the foliage emerges. This tree will often be limited to a 10 to 20 year functional life in urban settings.

Juncus effuses (Common Rush): This perennial rush does best in moist soil and full sun to partial shade. Easy to grow, this robust plant is evergreen, and tolerates seasonal flooding and sandy soil.

Coreopsis lanceolata (Lance-leaf Coreopsis): This easy to grow coreopsis thrives in nearly every type of soil and can be planted in spring, summer, or fall. Preferring full sun to partial shade, the yellow blooms of this plant will increase year after year.

Iris virginica (Southern Blue Flag): Growing to the possible height of 4 feet, the striking lavender blue blooms of this iris emerge in June. Preferring full sun only, this low maintenance plant also prefers medium to wet soil.

Baptisia australis (Yellow Wild Indigo): This is a yellow flowering version of the blue wild indigo. With very similar characteristics, this plant is also grown in full sun but with average to dry soil. This indigo does best if it is planted early in the spring, as it can take a while to get to full size.

Gaillardia pulchella (Fire Wheel): Fire wheel is the perfect name for this brilliant flowering perennial. The blooms are produced in the summer, and contain scarlet, orange, or bright yellow petals that surround a rose-purple centre. Dead-heading will prolong flowering, and this plant prefers hot, sunny areas in average to dry soil (drought tolerant).

Sarracenia minor (Hooded Pitcher Plant): A very spectacular and clever pitcher plant, the top of this plant is a "hood" that covers the opening of the plant and can range from white to light green. The top of the plant has several translucent spots that keep insects confused as to the correct exit, making the plant extremely proficient at catching insects. Like most pitcher plants, this plant does best in extremely moist conditions, with a mixture of peat, sand, and sphagnum moss if available.

Sarracenia rubra (Sweet Pitcher Plant): This pitcher plant enjoys full sun, and also does best in a peat/sand mixture. Seedlings can be slow to grow, and plants started inside may have trouble adapting to seasonal changes once transplanted outdoors. Older plants can grow up to 30 cm tall, and are streaked with red. Even with full sun, these plants do have a tendency to get "floppy" in the spring.

Sarracenia flava (Yellow Trumpet or Biscuit Flower): Once again grown in a mixture of sand and peat, this pitcher plant will go dormant throughout the winter, but should be kept moist. This plant also prefers a bright sunny growing place, and the pitchers produced each spring can be bright yellow, and the blooms produced are also generally lime green or bright yellow.

Sarracenia purpurea (Frog's Breeches, Hunter's Cap, or Common Pitcher Plant): This smaller pitcher plant will only grow to 6 inches in height. Once again preferring sunny spots and a sand/peat mixture of soil, this plant will survive a winter in dormancy, but should be kept moist. During the growing season, the plant should be kept very wet, and will produce purple or greenish purple blooms in the spring.

Lobelia cardinalis (Cardinal Flower): This short-lived herbaceous perennial grows in clumps that range from 1-3' tall. Grown best in low, wet areas, this plant produces a red tubular flower that is pollinated by the Ruby-throated Hummingbird, which is strongly attracted to it. This plant prefers full sun to partial shade.

 Preparation and Planting 
    Spring 04
 Seasons
    Spring 04
    Fall 04 
    Fall 05