Growing & Selecting Wildflowers

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Widely-Adapted Wildflowers to Plant in Your Garden

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Interested in growing wildflowers? The beauty of wildflowers is that they’re easy to grow, colorful from spring until fall, provide color for years with little maintenance, and attract wildlife such as butterflies and other pollinators. Here are a few of our favorite wildflowers, plus growing tips!

Why Wildflowers?

  1. Wildflowers are resilient! There are more than 6,000 native wildflower species growing all across America. They occur naturally in their climate so they are very resilient in all weather conditions.
  2. Wildflowers are easy! Wildflowers are happily married to the soil and climatic conditions in which they’ve evolved! When there is a suitable match of plant and growing conditions, it’s easy.
  3. Wildflowers support the birds and bees! Native wildflowers are not only beautiful but also attract pollinators and nurture the landscape for birds. Without native plants and the insects that co-evolve with them, local birds and wildlife couldn’t survive.

When to Plant Wildflowers

Wildflowers are best planted in the cooler spring. They can also be planted in the fall once it’s cooled down; the seeds of perennial flowers will germinate while annual flower seeds can lie dormant until spring.

Selecting Wildflowers

The first step in growing a new wildflower patch is to select the right varieties for your region. To make sure that a wildflower is recommended for your area, however, we advise consulting with your local Cooperative Extension Service.

5 Common Wildflowers Across North America

The below wildflowers occur all across America and, in many places, occur in vast numbers.

1. Black-Eyed Susans

A classic perennial, Black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta L.) produce golden-yellow daisy-like flower petals around a black central cone atop one- to two-feet stems. It flowers from midsummer until fall.

Black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta L.)
Black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta L.) 

2. Indian Blanket 

Indian Blanket (Gaillardia pulchella) is an annual which produces red, daisy-like flowers with yellow edging atop a one- to three-foot tall stem. It blooms in early summer.

Indian Blanket (Gaillardia pulchella)
Indian Blanket (Gaillardia pulchella) 

3. Purple Coneflowers

A resilient perennial, purple coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea) have long-lasting, lavender-petaled flowers surrounding a prickly orange cone, atop tall (two to five-foot) stems. They flower from midsummer until frost and also naturalize easily.

Purple Coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea)
Purple Coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea)

4. Plains Coreopsis

An annual species, Coreopsis tinctoria has bright flowers with yellow-red petals surrounding a dark-red center. The flowers rise from long, branching stems.

Plains Coreopsis (Coreopsis tinctoria)
Plains Coreopsis (Coreopsis tinctoria)

5. Evening Primrose

The evening primrose (Oenothera spp.) is a night-flowering biennial with yellow flowers that opens in the evening and closes by noon. The plant completes its life cycle in 2 years, with its leaves appearing in the first year and its flowers in the second. There’s also a famous pink-flowered Showy Evening Primrose, O. speciosa., with pastel pink flowers that were a favorite of Lady Bird Johnson.

Evening Primrose (Oenothera spp.)
Evening Primrose (Oenothera spp.)

Wildflowers by Region

Below are the type of wildflowers that can easily be planted by homeowners, paying attention to wildflower seeds that can easily be found from major seed companies. 

Northeast

Red Columbine
Swamp Milkweed
Butterfly Weed
New England Aster
Lance-Leaf Coreopsis
Joe Pye Weed
Indian Blanket
Ox-Eye Sunflower
Blazing Star
Wild Lupine
Wild Bergamot
Evening Primrose
Beard Tongue
Black-eyed Susan
Goldenrod

Southeast

Butterfly weed
Lance-Leaf Coreopsis
Plains Coreopsis
Purple Coneflower
Indian Blanket
Blazing Star
Wild Lupine
Lemon Mint
Mexican Hat
Black-eyed Susan
Spiderwort
Scarlet Sage

Midwest

Red Columbine
Butterfly Weed
Blazing Star
Blue False Indigo (Baptisia australis)
New England Aster
Coreopsis tripteris
Purple Coneflower
Joe-Pye weed
Penstemon
Wild Geranium
Garden Phlox
Ox-Eye Sunflower
Wild Lupine
Black-eyed Susan
Zigzag Goldenrod

Southwest
Plains Coreopsis
Desert Marigold
Prairie Aster
California poppy
Indian Blanket
Blue Flax
Arizona Lupine
Blazing Star
Evening Primrose
California Bluebell
Mexican Hat
Bird’s Eye
Five Spot

Western

Blue Columbine
Smooth Aster
Prairie Aster
Bee Plant
Plains Coreopsis
Fleabane Daisy
Blanket Flower
Indian Blanket
Globe Gilia
Blue Flax
Evening Primrose
Mexican Hat
Black-eyed Susan

Pacific Northwest

Plains coreopsis
California poppy
Globe Gilia
Mountain Phlox
Blue Flax
Russell Lupine
Blazing Star
Five Spot
Evening Primrose
Baby Blue Eyes
California Bluebell

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For a list of more wildflowers as well as invasive wildflowers, consult the Web site www.wildflowerinformation.org. You may also wish to reference the USDA Web site for a state-by-state list of noxious weeds.

What About a Wildflower Meadow in a Can?

Often, seed companies will sell wildflower seeds as a “mix” for a wildflower meadow, prairie, or grove. 

However, ignore those ads promising that one container full of seeds will turn into a meadow of wildflowers. Establishing any plant community takes prep work and maintenance. Also, be aware that a wildflower meadow is not neat and tidy. Nature goes through dormancy, and nature can be messy.

Growing Wildflowers

  • For a 500-square-foot plot, use 1/4 pound of wildflower seeds.
  • Wildflowers prefer a space with full direct sun with a minimum of 6 hours per day. 
  • Wildflowers do not usually need rich soil; they’ll grow most anywhere. It’s best to just mow an area close to the ground and kill the existing vegetation by hand-pulling tough perennial weeds.
  • Do not till the new ground (which brings weed seeds to the surface).
  • Usually, just scratch the soil and sow your wildflower seeds. Press the seed into the soil with your feet.
  • Keep watered. Pull any obvious weeds (usually those which grow faster and taller).
  • After wildflowers bloom, let them drop their seeds and self-sow. In the fall, mow the patch and leave the cuttings on the ground. 
  • If maintained, your wildflower patch should grow for several years.

Be a Good Plant Shopper

“Preserve it in the wild.
Perpetuate it in your garden.”

That’s the motto of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Shop at reputable native-plant nurseries rather than kidnapping plants from the wild. Collecting wild plants has already seriously diminished and even eliminated whole colonies of natives, and it’s not even very successful (and may also be illegal in your area).

Find a native-plant nursery that uses plants propagated from wild populations within 50 miles (or as close as possible) to your garden. Look for plants that are “nursery propagated” not “nursery grown.”

For a list of native-plant nurseries, see the Wildflower Center’s suppliers directory.

About The Author

Catherine Boeckmann

Catherine Boeckmann loves nature, stargazing, and gardening so it’s not surprising that she and The Old Farmer’s Almanac found each other. She leads digital content for the Almanac website, and is also a certified master gardener in the state of Indiana. Read More from Catherine Boeckmann