Plants & Wildlife

Needs moisture for establishment and average soil moisture to really thrive. Can resprout from root stock following dieback from drought. Attracts pollinators. Fragrant. Ornamental potential. ’Hummingbird’ is the culivar most widely used at BBP.

White oaks are more resistant to oak wilt as they rarely produce spore mats and their roots do not graft like red oaks do. Obscure scale damage affects red oaks more than white as well. High wildlife value, including beetles, leafhoppers, insects, many mammals and birds. Felled leaves are said to deter garden pests.

Not salt or flood tolerant. Needs sun. Strong roots can significantly lift sidewalks and fruit needs to be removed from walkways. High wildlife value for birds. Prone to bagworms, webworm, borers. Ornamental leaves, fall colors and interesting fruit good for educational purposes.

Evergreen understory or small specimen tree. Evergreen cultivars especially stunning. Handles wet to dry soil. Tolerates sun to shade, but prefers some light windows. Seeds in and can send up suckers. Great spring interest with long bloom time. Plant where flowers can be accessible for public interaction. High ecological value for birds, butterflies, moths, beetles.

Slow growing. Longest lived native in eastern US. Not recommended for Lawn planting; fungal issues from heavy water. Intense, variable fall color. Fruits important for birds, often develops cavities good for nesting and small mammals.

Great sedge with enough moisture. Does best in flooded sites.

Bluebells might be spring’s most exciting park flower. This spring ephemeral emerges in May with tiny pink flower buds that shift to blue as they grow and open. A pH shift in the flower’s cells changes the color, signaling to spring bumblebees that flowers are ready for visiting. A true spring ephemeral, there is no sign Mertensia when summer hits, which makes it a great plant to tuck under and around plants that leaf out later. Will seed in when happy.

’Henry’s Garnet,’ with its gracefully arching branches and loose open form, is the most widely used and best proven cultivar at BBP. ‘Sprich’ (trade name: LITTLE HENRY) is less proven in the Park but shows promise as a smaller more compact form. Both will tend to slowly colonize an area by root suckers. Control suckers to maintain a formal look or allow them to intermingle with other plants for a more natural aesthetic. It will grow in full shade but Itea’s best features, fragrant showy spring flowers and brilliant fall color, are diminished in the shade.

Nice seedhead, best suited for a more naturalized meadow garden.

Similar to C. pennsylvanica or Sporobolis heterolepsis. Delicate clumping form. Tolerates drought. Does well on slope. Best in part-shade.

Seriously underutilized plant. More ornamental that R. typhina and better behaved.

Look out for cultivars with berries ALL winter. That means birds are not eating them. One of the main points of this plant is for birds to eat the berries after the sugars ferment by freeze. Known to result in drunken robins. We’ve also found rare moths boring into the stems. Not all borers are bad! Berries also provide excellent winter interest in the landscape. Dioecious. Must plant both male and female plants to get berry production.

Strong, fast grower, beautiful urban tree. Susceptible to borers when first planted. Must prune for airflow and remove duff for anthracnose. Large fruit, eaten by squirrels, make it unsuitable for tree pits. Seedling removal is essential each spring.