In Jo's Yard - 58 Starry Rosinflower

Starry Rosinweed (Silphium asteriscus) is in a corner of my backyard, in a bed with Muhly Grass, Privet Senna and Narrowleaf Ironweed.  They are beautiful daisy-like tall flowers that bloom from March into September or October.  I clip the spent stems low to the ground.  I have to say that Green Isle Gardens [Green Isle Gardens website] had a great suggestion to plant the Narrowleaf Ironweed in with it – when they are both in full bloom the yellow and deep purple just look stunning! 

I always find the feel of the Rosinflower leaves surprising – stiff, a little hairy, a little sticky!  The leaves are a deep green color and “firm”, not droopy.  The buds are delicate looking and flowers are bright and with well-formed petals.  The stems are tall and graceful.  Even when the flowers die back, they provide an interesting sight in the garden.  It is described as a prolific self-seeder, but I have not had that experience in my yard.  


RESOURCES:
https://flawildflowers.org/flower-friday-silphium-asteriscus/  
https://www.fnps.org/plants/plant/silphium-asteriscus



                              Starry Rosinflower – bud on the right, in bloom, 
                              and past blooms (no petals, brown seeds)

                                 June 2019 – Starry Rosinflower in full bloom

                                Starry Rosinflower with Narrowleaf Ironweed

In Jo's Yard - 57 Blanket Flowers

Blanket Flowers (Gaillardia pulchella) and one lone red Pentas make up a large bed around my lamp post in the front yard.  I describe the Blanket Flowers as quite happy and prolific flowers – they seem to re-seed anywhere at the drop of a hat (or a seed)!  Blanket flowers are native to Florida, but actually grow from Florida all the way to Canada. 

In Central Florida, Blanketfower is heat- and drought-tolerant.  Its peak blooming season is mid-Spring to late-Summer, but generally here has flowers year-round.   The bees and the butterflies love it!  I found by chance a Monarch Butterfly Chrysalis attached to one, one summer. 

As I said, it will reproduce prolifically, anywhere and everywhere – in the cracks of the driveway, in the middle of the flori-mulch pathway.  But if the plants are in the ground, it is also easy to dig them up and replant where you want them, and have them grow successfully. 

In late fall, trim them down to 6”-8” stubble.  You don’t have to worry about cold snaps, they are very hardy. 

Caution:  If you are purchasing from a box store, check the variety of blanket flower to get the native variety.  Avoid non-native Gaillardia aristata or one of the many varieties of Gaillardia pulchella or Gaillardia x grandiflora (a hybrid of G. pulchella and G. aristata).


Resources:
http://flawildflowers.org/resources/pdfs/2014/Blanketflower.pdf

                                                 Blanket Flower close-up in my garden

Blanket Flower garden around my lamp post  

In Jo's Yard - 56 Privet Senna

I have one Privet Senna [Senna ligustrina] in my yard and it is turning into a spectacular “show-off” of a shrub.  It is evergreen which suggests it might be a good screening plant.  I have my bird house near it, and I think the birds find the Privet Senna to be a good addition to their neighborhood. 

It is a larval host plant to cloudless sulphur (Phoebis sennae), sleepy orange ((Eurema nicippi) and the orange-barred sulphur (Phoebis philea) butterflies. 

Privet senna is fast-growing, often reaching its full height of 4’-8’ in a single growing season. It is a prolific self-seeder and should be pruned to prevent an abundance of seedlings. It is frost-sensitive though, so avoid winter pruning.  It can also be somewhat unattractive when it becomes covered in its many large, brown seed pods. It is not salt-tolerant.  It can be grown is full sun or light shade. 

The end of March (2020) was especially warm and my Privet Senna started to flower. 

Be sure and avoid non-native Senna pendula var. glabrata (synonym Senna bicapsularis), a category I invasive in Florida.  Common names for this invasive are Christmas Senna, Christmas Cassia and Climbing Cassia. 

Resources:
FNPS Plant List
https://flawildflowers.org/flower-friday-senna-ligustrina/
https://floridanativegarden.wordpress.com/2016/11/11/privet-wild-sensitive-plant-is-blooming-yellow/


                                     2018 Oct 7 Privet Senna flowering – 3 month after planting

                                              2019 March 24 Privet Senna blooming

     2018 Dec 30 – Privet Senna seed pods