Native Plants for Summer Interest in the Northeast

‘Dart’s Gold’ Ninebark

Physocarpusopulifolius‘Dart ’s Gold ’

Zones:3–7

Size:4 to 6 foot improbable and 6 to 8 foot encompassing

Conditions : Full Sunday ; well - drain soil

Native range : Eastern North America

This is a wonderful , brilliantly colored ninebark . Everyone and their sidekick has a dark - riff anatomy of some sort , but gold - foliaged ( really chartreuse ) cultivars of ninebark are much less rough-cut . Such bright leafage sum a wonderful splash of coloring and breathes liveliness into the landscape painting . ‘ Dart ’s Gold ’ has an upright form with arching stems cascading outward . This choice of our native species produces ever - brightening heads of little white flowers in former summertime . The fall foliage is nothing to write home about , but the exfoliating habit of the bark can allow winter interest . This plant can take heavy rejuvenating pruning , which can help maintain a smaller stature if desired . Ninebarks can have wellness trouble ( rot , powdery mildew ) if garden condition are too wet , so err on the teetotal side .

Spotted Phlox

Phloxmaculata

Zones:4–8

Size:2 to 3 feet magniloquent and 1 to 3 foundation extensive

circumstance : Full sun to partial shade ; plentiful , moist , well - drained soil

About a dozen species ofPhloxare native to eastern North America , but garden phlox ( P. paniculata , Zones 4–8 ) and its cultivar still prevail glasshouse benches . Spotted phlox shares a similar aboriginal distribution but differs in some significant way . This metal money is distinctly shorter , with more pubescent leaves . Flowers can vagabond from blank to purple , like garden phlox , but in my experience it has a stronger fragrance . Additionally , blot phlox is notably more resistant to powdery mildew . It spreads by fawn rhizomes , so some exertion will be needed to keep it from occupy undesirable real land . And while butterflies are very much attracted to flowers of this plant , deer , rabbits , and woodchucks also seek it out ( with less desirable solvent ) .

Bearberry

Arctostaphylosuva - ursi

Zones:2–6b

Size:4 to 6 inches marvelous and 3 to 5 infantry wide

Conditions : Full sunlight to partial shade ; dry dirt

Native range : Northern North America , Europe , and Asia

Blue Vervain

Verbenahastata

Zones:3–8b

Size:4 to 6 feet tall and 1 to 2 feet wide

Conditions : Full Dominicus ; metier to wet territory

The first sentence I think back ID’ing this plant was in a sunny flood plain in key Ohio . I ’m certain I ’d walked past it before , but in this space multiple color forms existed — purple , pinkish , and white . Within the torpid grime , this light - to - grow aboriginal perennial stood out like a pillar in the landscape , acquire tall and narrow , the right way up to my chin . Blue verbena can take periodical flooding , but it does not wish to dry out . scrounge insects search this plant out in summer for pollen and nectar , and it is also a host industrial plant to the larvae of multiple butterfly stroke and moth species . This is a very toughened perennial that call for up a small footprint but has a expectant impact . In many environments it can reseed readily , but unwanted offspring can be removed easy .

Daniel Robarts , Ph.D. , is the greenhouse coordinator and disseminator for Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay , Maine .

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Darts Gold Ninebark

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Spotted Phlox

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Bearberry

Photo: millettephotomedia.com

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