Native Plants
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Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
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Thursday - April 03, 2014
From: Wappapello, MO
Region: Midwest
Topic: Plant Lists, Drought Tolerant, Herbs/Forbs, Shrubs, Wildflowers
Title: Planting Suggestions for a Lake Home in Wayne County, MO
Answered by: Anne Van Nest
QUESTION:
We have a lake home in Wayne County, MO at Lake Wappapello. The soil is very rocky. We recently cleared an area around our home of assorted dead trees, some cedars and what seemed like tons of vines. Since we're not there year round we'd like to replant with something that will survive in extremely hot summers, will spread relatively quickly, and something aggressive to other vegetation, and will do well in sunny and poor soil conditions. Any suggestions would be most appreciated.ANSWER:
The first place to go to find a list of potential plants is our Native Plants Database. Use the Combination Search feature instead of Recommended Species. This will provide a bigger selection with much more choice to narrow down. The volunteers and staff at the Wildflower Center who maintain the database have partners in different regions to help with these recommended species lists based on what is easy to access in local nurseries.
Under Combination Search, select the following categories: State – Missouri, Habit – Shrub (Vine, Wildflower etc.), Duration – Perennial, Light Requirement – Sun, and Soil Moisture – Dry, Bloom Time – June-September These search criteria will give you an extensive list of plants to consider. Follow each plant link to our webpage for that plant to learn its growing conditions, bloom time, etc. At the bottom of each plant webpage, under Additional Resources, there is a link to the USDA webpage for that plant. Take a look there for more specific details about suitability before you put them on your final planting list.
Here are some possibilities that came up from the Native Plants Database Search:
Shrubs and Vines
Acacia angustissima (prairie acacia)
Amorpha canescens (leadplant)
Clematis virginiana (Devil’s darning needles)
Campsis radicans (trumpet creeper) Watch may be too aggressive!
Lonicera dioica (limber honeysuckle)
Physocarpus opulifolius (Atlantic ninebark)
Rhus typhina (staghorn sumac) or any of the other native sumac for your area (Rhus aromatica, Rhus glabra, Rhus copallinum)
Rosa blanda (smooth rose)
Perennials
Ageratina altissima (white snakeroot)
Asclepias tuberosa (butterflyweed)
Engelmannia peristenia (Engelmann’s Daisy)
Glandularia bipinnatifida var. bipinnatifida (Prairie verbena)
Oenothera macrocarpa ssp. macrocarpa (Bigfruit evening-primrose)
Silphium laciniatum (compassplant)
Solidago nemoralis (gray goldenrod)
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