Peak-Season Perennials for the South

While we would all ideally have garden that look at their peak in every season , the reality is often far from that ideal . Very few of us have all the clip in the public to consecrate to our garden , and the arduous verity is the preparation and work that go into gardening means we often only get one time of year where we can sit down back and enjoy the fruits of our labour .

After all of that prep and planning , you desire to ensure your summertime garden is at its prime quantity when it ’s at long last too raging to grind . To assist ensure your summertime garden really reflect , regional experts shared their favourite perennials for this peak season . Find picks for theSouthbelow , and be certain to check out more fabulous summer selections inPeak - Season Combos .

1. Tall Swamp Sunflower

Name:Helianthussimulans

Zones:6b–10

Size:4 to 8 feet marvelous and 6 to 10 feet wide

Conditions : Full Dominicus to fond wraith ; moist to wet dirt

aboriginal range : Southeastern United States from South Carolina to Florida and easterly Texas

Also known as muck sunflower , this widespread native is often found in of course damp or squiffy area . At the South Carolina Botanical Garden , it grows smartly up to 8 feet improbable each twelvemonth , even in heavy clay . Reportedly it will grow a more dense and thick substance abuse when sit in full sun and very wet conditions , but it is adaptable to most soil type . When necessary , we manage its size by cutting it back by a third in former summertime . This perennial sunflower is great for spot where it can colonize , such as at the back of a border , in a rainfall garden , or in naturalize plantings on soaked sites . Masses of smart flowers in late summer and former fall are a spread for aboriginal pollinators , and the seeds that follow are favored by native birds .

2. Whiteleaf Leather Flower

Name:Clematisglaucophylla

Zones:6–10

Size:6 to 12 foot tall and wide

Conditions : Full sun to fond shade ; moist , well - drain grime

Native image : Southeastern North America

The bloom of youth of this uncommon and well - behaved aboriginal vine first come along in late spring and stay on until former gloam . The sporty , purple - pink , campana - determine heyday supply a nectar source for wildlife such as hummingbird and bees . The stunning vines struggle up trees , bush , or structures using specialized leaf petioles to wind around branches and other supports . Since whiteleaf leather flower raise naturally in forests , outcroppings , and along streambanks , it appreciates make its feet in partial shade with soil that is fertile , organic , and slightly acidic to indifferent . In wintertime , it provides continued decorative involvement with curl of feathered seeded player heads covering the vine , which may be prune to the earth once it goes dormant .

3. Great Blue Lobelia

Name:Lobeliasiphilitica

Zones:4–9

Size:3 to 5 feet grandiloquent and 6 to 12 inches wide

Conditions : Full sunshine to fond shade ; rich , moist to wet dirt

Native range : Eastern North America

Great sorry lobelia is a beautiful blue twin to the better - known red cardinal prime ( Lobelia cardinalis , Zones 3–9 ) . It is aboriginal to most of easterly North America in moist to wet sites . The plant starts off with a rosette of bright green leaves and before long sends up a tall spike of periwinkle - grim , snapdragon - corresponding flowers that bloom from summertime to fall . It requires unremitting wet , especially in full sun , and in warm climate it will execute best in morning sun and good afternoon spook . In idealistic conditions it may naturalise to courteously amalgamate between other plant . This is a short - live perennial , so ego - seeding is in the main boost . If you do n’t want voluntary seedling , withdraw the germ capsules after the plant wind up florescence .

4. Blue Ridge Catchfly

Name:Sileneovata

Zones:5–8

Size:3 to 5 feet tall and all-inclusive

condition : fond shade ; moist , well - enfeeble soil with slightly acidic to inert pH

Native orbit : Southern Illinois to southern Virginia and south to Georgia

Blue Ridge catchfly is rarified throughout its native range , and most of the wild populations are modest . It has fall behind much of its habitat to logging , road construction , and right - of - way sustentation . In the Carolinas , it develop of course in rich woodlands with nearly neutral soil . In our garden , it receives partial sunlight and postulate piffling to no maintenance other than occasional irrigation during the summer month . Its hairy stems exude a sticky substance that sometimes snare insects , but the works does not apply them for their nutritional economic value . Small , white , carnation - like prime at the death of each root word open in the evening ; these are pollinated primarily by moths and only on occasion by bees and butterflies .

Allison Kelly is the Natural Heritage Garden coach and Trent Miller is the Living Collections and Desert Garden manager at the South Carolina Botanical Garden in Clemson , South Carolina .

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summer perennials for the south

Photo: courtesy of South Carolina Botanical Garden

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Tall Swamp Sunflower

Photo: courtesy of South Carolina Botanical Garden

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