Summer-into-Fall Blooming Native Plants for Philadelphia

Rudbeckia and Coneflower, informal cottage garden style
Rudbeckia and Coneflower, informal cottage garden style

In late summer, native plant sales are held at environmental centers and nurseries across the country.  After a season of bloom, sometimes I notice that I don’t have enough blooms during particular times. I created several lists of blooming native plants for each season. For those of you who need more plants that bloom in these last days of summer into fall, here is a list of flowering plants indigenous to the eastern and mid-Atlantic areas of North America.

Botanical Name – Common name – Flower color – Height – Light – Soil

Shrubs

Actaea racemes or Cimicifuga racemes (Black Cohosh) – height 3′-8′ white flowers; moist

Flowers

Agastache nepetoides (Yellow Giant Hyssop) – pale yellowish-green/white – 2′-5′ – shade – moist

Agastache scrophulariaefolia (Purple Hyssop) – purple flowers -2-5′ – sun/pt.shade – moist soil

Anaphalis margaritacea (Pearly Everlasting) – white flowers – 1-3′ – sun/pt.shade – dry

Ascelpias incarnate (Swamp Milkweed) -rose pink – 2-6′ – sun/pt. shade – moist soil

Asclepias syriaca (Common Milkweed) – pink flowers – 2-6′- full sun – dry

Asclepias tuberose (Butterfly weed) – orange – 1-2′ – sun – dry

Aster cordifolius (Blue Wood Aster) – blue-violet/rose – 1-5” – pt. shade/full shade

Aster divaricatus (White Wood Aster) – white flowers – 1-3′ – pt. shade/full shade

Aster novae-angliae (New England Aster) – bright purple/pink – 2-8′ – full sun/part shade – moist

Aster novi-belgii (New York Aster) – 1-4′ ; violet to blue flowers; full sun; moist soil

Baptisia tinctoria (Wild Indigo) – yellow pea-like flowers – 2-3′ – full sun/part shade – dry soil

Lobelia cardinals (Cardinal flower) – scarlet flowers – 2-5′ – part/full shade – moist

Lobelia syphilitic ( Great Blue Lobelia) – white/blue flowers – 1-3′ – full sun/part shade – moist

Chelone glabra (Turtlehead) – white flowers – 1-3′ – full sun/part shade – moist

Eupatorium fistulossum (Joe Pye-weed) – white – to 10′- sun/shade – moist

Gentiana clause (Closed Gentian) – blue-violet flowers – 1-3′ – full sun/pt. shade – moist

Helenium autumnal (Sneezeweed) – 2-6′; yellow flowers; full sun; moist soil

Helianthus giantess (Thin-leaved Sunflower) – yellow flowers – 2-5′ – full sun – moist

Heliopsis helianthoides (Ox-eye) – pale yellow – 2-5′ – full/part shade – moist/dry

Heuchera americana (Alumroot) – greenish-purple flowers – 1-3′ – shade/full sun – moist/dry

Hibiscus moscheutos (Swamp mallow) – large pink/purplish/white – 3-7′ – sun/pt. shade – moist

Liatris spicata (Spiked Gayfeather) – purple – 4-5′ – full sun – moist

Lillium canadense (Canada Lily) – yellow/orange/red – 2-5′ – full sun/pt. shade – moist

Lillium superb (Turk’s cap-lily) – orange, orange-red flowers 3-8′ – full sun – moist

Monarda didyma (Bee-balm) – red flowers – 2-5′ – full sun – moist

Monarda fistulas (Wild Bergamot) – pink to lavender flowers – 2-4′ – full sun/pt. shade – dry

Oenothera biennis (Evening Primrose) – yellow flowers – 2-5′ – full sun – dry

Oenothera fruticosa (Sundrops) – yellow – 1-3’ – full sun – moist/dry

Phlox paniculata (Summer Phlox) – magenta pink – 2-6′ – sun/pt. shade – moist

Phlox maculata (Wild Sweet William) – deep pink/rose-purple- 1-3′ – sun – moist

Rudbeckia laciniata (Cutleaf coneflower) – yellow flowers 5-10′ – pt. shade – moist

Senna hebecarpa or Cassia hebecarpa  (Wild Senna) yellow – 3-5′ – sun – moist

Solidago flexicaulis (ZIgzag Goldenrod) – 1-3′; yellow flowers; shade; moist soil

Solidago sempervirens (Sea-side Goldenrod) – yellow flowers – 3-5′- sun – dry

Tradescantia virginiana (Spiderwort) – purple – 1-3′; pt./full shade – dry

Veronia novaborescensis (New York Ironweed) – rose-purple – 3-5′ – full sun – moist

Zizia aura (Golden Alexander) yellow – 1-3′ – full sun/shade – moist

Vines

Campsis radicand (Trumpet Creeper) – red – 40+’ – sun/pt. sun – any soil

Clematis Virginiana (Virgin’s Bower) white – 20’+ – sun/pt. sun – moist

2 comments

We're Listening

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.