Spring 2010 Plant List C--D
Carex grayii
Gray's or Morning Star Sedge
N. America, z. 2-8. An erect, fountain-form sedge whose 1/2" wide, semi-evergreen blades rise 1' to 3'. Its big attraction
is its seedheads: large, round, and studded with spikes like an ancient mace―hence the name Morning Star Sedge. Good for massing
or accents near water, and also in pots. The long-lasting seedheads, which start green and turn a soft gold, are good for
cutting. Moist to wet soil in sun to part shade. $6.00
Carex laxiculmis
Loose-culmed Sedge
N. America, z. 5-9. This local grass relative might well be called "Curling Sedge" because its 1/2" wide, blue-green leaves
curl outward from the center rather like a mum, making a springy tussock 6"-8" tall. It's happy here in partial to full shade
and average soil and is evergreen, although the leaves will brown at the tip over winter and should be cut back in early spring
to allow for new growth. A good edger, since it doesn't run, and a nice pot plant, too. $5.00
Carex pensylvanica
Pennsylvania Sedge
N. America, z. 4-8. A very fine-textured sedge only 6"-8" tall, Pennsylvania Sedge forms billowy tufts that spread moderately
by short runners. Often found growing in deciduous woods or in sandy soils, it is very shade and drought tolerant and a beautiful,
grass-like groundcover for difficult sites. $5.00
Chasmanthium latifolium
River Oats, Wild Oats
N. America, z. 5-9. This beautiful East Coast grass grows in 2'-4' upright clumps of rich green foliage with showy, diamond-shaped
flower spikes that start out jade green and turn pale gold in fall, shimmering in the slightest breeze on gracefully arching
stems. At its best in moist soil and partial shade, it will tolerate sunnier and dryer conditions and makes an excellent
waterside, seashore, or pot plant. If used in the border its long-lasting flower spikes should be removed in winter to prevent
self-seeding. $7.00
Chelone glabra
White Turtlehead
N. America, z. 3-9. A distinguished native with rigid, 2'-4' stems bearing dark green, leathery leaves and terminal spikes
of ivory white or pink tinged flowers in late summer/early fall. The 1 1/2" flowers are unusual, shaped something like a turtle's
head, and stand out well in the late summer garden. The plant makes impressive clumps, combining well with Lobelias and tall
ferns in moist to wet soil, sun or shade. Butterfly host plant. $6.00
Chelone lyonii
Pink Turtlehead
N. America, z. 4-9. A sturdy and very attractive perennial whose 2'-4' stems, well clothed in shining deep green leaves, spread
slowly to form dense colonies. In late summer/fall each stem is topped with a tight vertical cluster of deep pink flowers,
vaguely turtlehead-shaped, followed by seedheads that look more like the rattles on a rattlesnake. Pink Turtlehead enjoys
moist to very wet soil in sun or partial shade. It does not need staking and unlike White Turtlehead seems immune to powdery
mildew. $6.00
Chrysogonum virginianum
Green-and-Gold, Goldenstar
N. America, z. 5-10. A cheerful, low-growing perennial with open-faced golden flowers in spring and often again in fall.
This is the seed-grown species and while more irregular in form than the named selections, it is perhaps the longest blooming.
It spreads fairly rapidly by short runners and is an excellent groundcover for partial to full shade, average to moist soil.
$5.00
Chrysogonum virginianum 'Pierre'
'Pierre' Green & Gold, Goldenstar
N. America, z. 5-9. A fine selection of this excellent, spring-flowering
deciduous groundcover for part to full shade and moist soil.
'Pierre' forms neat 6" clumps which
expand well but do not send out runners. The golden flowers are
larger than the species and produced abundantly over a long period.
Very nice! $6.00
Cimicifuga (Actaea) racemosa
Bugbane, Black Cohosh
N. America, z. 3-9. Slow-growing, long-lived, and stately, Black Cohosh produces 2'-3' mounds of handsome dark-green, divided
leaves. Rising well above them are slender, twisting wands of fuzzy white flowers that provide an excellent summer nectar
source for many pollinators. A fine woodland plant for partial to full shade and moist, well-drained soil. $6.00
Claytonia virginica
Spring Beauty
N. America, z. 3-8. A small plant which nevertheless makes acre-wide sheets of misty color in spring woodlands. Growing from
tiny, rapidly spreading corms, it produces tufts of grass-like foliage in late fall/winter and 3/4" white or pink flowers
striped with deeper pink throughout the spring season. It's at home in average to wet soil, and since it goes dormant in
summer can be tucked in anywhere its delicate spring color is desired. It delights without ever overwhelming, and I can never
have too much of it. $5.00
Coreopsis auriculata 'Nana'
Mouse-ear Coreopsis
N. America, z. 4-10. This delightful little plant makes a 4"-6" high clump of dark green, softly hairy leaves, topped in late
spring and early summer by 1" single flowers of a rich yellow-orange, each as delicately formed as a flower in an illuminated
manuscript. Dead-head for prolonged bloom. Clumps spread slowly but are not aggressive. Nice! Sun to part shade, average,
well-drained soil. $6.00
Corylopsis spicata
Spike Winterhazel
Japan, z. 5-8. A tall, widespreading—easily 8' x 8'—and very beautiful mountain shrub with pleated leaves that open a soft
matte green flushed with purple and turn deep green in summer, and dangling clusters of pale yellow flowers in early spring.
Not as showy in bloom as Forsythia, but a much more elegant shrub. A rapid grower, it prefers moist, acid, humusy soil in
sun or part shade, with some protection from late freezes. $9.00
Digitalis lutea
Small Yellow Foxglove
Europe, z. 3-10. An elegant Foxglove with a basal tuft of rather narrow, leathery leaves and slender, 2'-3' wands hung with
small, pale yellow bells in late spring. Not as showy as the biennial Common Foxglove (D. purpurea) but quietly elegant and
a true perennial. Lovely in groups or as an accent plant, it may self-seed gently. Sun or shade, average to moist soil.
$6.00
Dioscorea quaternata
Wild Yam
N. America, z. 5-8. A true yam but not edible, and an unusual and beautiful small vine. Growing no more than 9′ and dying
back in fall, it will twine around a slender support and put out successive whorls of elegant, pleated leaves that flare outward
on long petioles.. The tiny flowers are barely seen, but the large seedpods are curious and pretty, while the leaves turn
deep gold in fall. Something different for shade to sun in humusy soil, it always attracts attention at the nursery. $10.00