Are you curious about growing your own wild strawberries? Just because they are “wild” doesn’t mean you can’t grow these tasty little fruits in your own landscape. In this article, gardening enthusiast Liessa Bowen introduces the wild strawberry and how to successfully grow your own! You won’t find wild strawberries for sale at your local grocery store. They aren’t practical for commercial enterprises, but you can easily grow these tasty treats at home. They are relatively small, delicate, and immensely sweet. The best way to eat them is straight off the plant at their peak of ripeness and freshness. Wild strawberries, Fragaria virginiana, are a member of the rose family (Rosaceae). This plant is a cool-season perennial that is native to woodland edges and meadows throughout much of North America. The home gardener will find these berries both interesting and useful because they are easily incorporated into a variety of gardening styles. Individual wild strawberry plants are small but readily spread by numerous runners, each producing a new plant that then creates its own runners. They eventually form a loose ground cover for your garden plot. Wild strawberry plants are also an ideal candidate for a raised bed or container, making them very versatile. In mild climates, your wild strawberry may stay evergreen for year-round landscaping interest. In the spring, notice the delicate white flowers, soon followed by small, delicious, scarlet red fruits. Strawberry flowers attract valuable pollinators to your garden and support native bees. Add them to your bird beds because many species of birds relish the tasty fruits as well. Are you ready to grow some wild strawberries in your garden? Let’s dig a little deeper into the proper care and maintenance of these fascinating and prolific plants! Plant Natural History There are two species of strawberry native to North America: the wild strawberry and the woodland strawberry. Commercial strawberries that you find at the grocery store, farmer’s market, or pick-your-own farms are hybrids. Many delicious cultivars with various fruit qualities have been developed from these hybrids. Humans have long used and appreciated strawberries as a source of food. Wild strawberries are also important for pollinators and the many animal species that use them as a food source. Because they provide food for so many different animals, these plants play a vital role in the natural ecosystem. Characteristics Wild strawberry is a very low-growing, ground cover plant that typically stays only about six inches tall. Each plant is a rounded clump of single, short stems that end in a group of three coarsely-toothed leaflets. The leaves and stems are covered with fine hairs that give them a slightly soft feel. Wild strawberry plants bloom reliably each spring. The flowers are white; each typically has five petals, although occasionally, a flower has only four petals. Shortly after flowering, the pollinated flowers produce small, red berries that are extremely sweet. Each mature berry is rounded, scarlet red, and covered with many indentations, each with a tiny, dark red seed. Wild strawberry plants are evergreen or semi-evergreen, retaining their green leaves throughout the winter. In the heat of summer, however, plants grown in full sun partially die back, regrowing fresh foliage when the weather cools again in the fall. These plants spread by numerous runners and eventually create an effective ground cover. Individual plants are short-lived and die after a couple of years, allowing the runners to continue propagating within a healthy patch. Propagation These plants are very easy to propagate by dividing healthy runners. While you can start a strawberry plant from seed, this is not the easiest method. If you purchase just one or two plants from a nursery specializing in native species, you can easily allow them to multiply into a large and prolific patch.

Do you have a moist garden plot with enough space for a spectacular perennial wildflower? Great blue lobelia is an eye-catching plant that appeals to gardeners, hummingbirds, and a multitude of pollinators. In this article, gardening expert Liessa Bowen will discuss the proper care and maintenance of these brilliant blue-flowering plants. Great blue lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica) gets less attention than it deserves. This plant is a member of the bellflower family (Campanulaceae). This family of flowering plants contains well over two thousand species, many of which are familiar garden plants. This native species provides a dramatic splash of late-season color to your moisture-rich garden plot. While its natural habitat includes woodland stream-sides and wetland borders, you can enjoy a vibrant patch in your native plant garden, woodland garden, or naturalized rain garden. You’ll definitely want this flower if you want to attract hummingbirds and pollinators to your garden. It will also help increase curb appeal, especially in late summer as your spring and summer-blooming plants are fading, helping extend the growing season or acting as a transition between your summer and fall-blooming blooms. If you’ve got a bit of space and a moist garden plot, let’s dig right in and get to know the great blue lobelia and everything you need to successfully grow your own. Plant Natural History Great blue lobelia is a wildflower native to central and eastern North America, from Canada south to Texas and east to the Atlantic coast. It loves wet environments. You’ll find it growing along streams sides and around swampy edges. It grows near cool springs and in moist meadows. It isn’t too picky about sun or shade as long as it enjoys organically rich, consistently moist soil conditions. This wildflower inhabits not only wetland borders but can also be found in both woodlands and grasslands. It’s widespread, although not particularly common within its range. This is a valuable wildlife plant, favored by a variety of insect pollinators and hummingbirds. All parts of this plant are mildly poisonous to humans, however, and should not be consumed in any way. Characteristics This native wildflower is an herbaceous perennial. It grows up to four feet tall and up to one-and-a-half feet wide. In ideal conditions, lobelia spreads by self-seeding and root rhizomes, creating attractive colonies without becoming aggressive. These plants develop several sturdy, upright stems. Each stem is lined with alternate, finely-toothed, lance-shaped leaves of a uniformly green color. They grow vigorously during the growing season and the above-ground foliage dies back completely after the first frost. Plants begin blooming in mid-to-late summer and continue into early fall, especially in cooler climates. The flower spikes are very showy and dramatic, typically reaching over six inches long. Numerous purplish-blue flowers line the flowering stems, opening from the bottom to the top. Each tubular flower has three prominent lower lobes and two upper lobes that are significantly less pronounced. Propagation Propagate by seed or division of mature clusters. If you’re just getting started, you might be able to find great blue lobelia at a nursery specializing in native plants. If you can’t find potted plants, starting from seed is a good way to introduce these plants to your landscape. If you already have lobelia growing in your yard, division is a great way to quickly start new patches of vegetation. Seed Direct sow seeds in the fall and allow them to overwinter on site. You won’t need to bury the seeds because they need light to germinate, but don’t expect to see any tiny seedlings until after your seeds have overwintered. It’s important to sow the seeds in a location where they will stay fairly moist, particularly in late winter and early spring. Not all the seeds you sow will germinate, but all you need are a few successful seedlings to start a beautiful colony of lobelia plants. After your seeds germinate in the spring, keep them consistently moist because the young plants are especially sensitive to drying out. Once the seedlings are several inches tall and have developed a few sets of true leaves, you can thin them to one plant per 12 inches or dig and transplant them to the desired location. Division The quickest and most direct method of propagation is division. The best times to divide your perennials are spring and fall when the weather is a bit cooler, and your plants aren’t in the middle of their peak growing season. All you need is a spade for digging and some comfortable garden gloves to protect your hands. Either dig out the entire cluster of plants you want to divide or dig around half of the cluster of plants you wish to divide. Using the garden spade, make a clean cut through the center of the cluster so that each half contains both healthy roots and stems. Re-plant half of the cluster in the same location (if desired) and transplant the other half into a new location. After getting each half settled and surrounded with fresh soil, water each cluster of plants well to help them overcome transplant shock. Transplanting Before transplanting to a new location, first prepare the site. Remove any weeds and other competing vegetation to remove competition. Next, enrich your soil and add any soil amendments, as needed, to ensure that your plants have excellent quality soil in which to grow. Do your transplanting on a cool day during the spring or fall, avoiding days that are hot, dry, and sunny. Dig a hole slightly larger than the root cluster of your plant. If you are transplanting a potted plant, carefully remove your plant from its pot and immediately place it in the prepared hole. Fill in around the roots with fresh soil and tamp it down. Finally, water your plant well and keep it well-watered for the first week or so after transplanting to help it settle into its new home. How to Grow If you can provide the right growing conditions, this native species is a joy to have in your garden. The most important thing to provide for these plants is rich, moist soil. They are less picky about sunlight; you can grow them in full or partial sun conditions. With ideal growing conditions, you’ll find this lobelia to be easy to grow and virtually trouble-free. Sunlight This wildflower performs well in full sun, dappled sun, and fairly heavy shade. In hotter climates, it prefers some afternoon shade, although in cooler climates, it performs very well in full sun. Water Lobelia siphilitica is a plant that loves constant soil moisture. Ideally, you’ll want to grow it in a location that is either very close to water, such as at the edge of a wetland, or in a low spot that stays moist throughout the year. Be prepared to offer some regular supplemental watering if the soil dries out. Soil Plant in a location with organically rich, moist soil. If your soil is naturally sandy, gritty, or other poor quality, add plenty of organic compost to help enrich the soil before planting. Climate and Temperature These plants are well adapted to the warm summers and cool winters of the eastern United States and Canada. The species is hardy in USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 4 – 9. Plants go dormant for the winter months and perform well during humid summers. This is not a desert plant and it would not perform well in arid climates. Fertilizing If you have plenty of organic matter in your soil, you shouldn’t need to worry about supplemental fertilizing. If, however, your plants appear weak and the leaves are starting to turn yellow, this may be a sign that your plants need a nutrient boost. Ideally, add a side dressing or organic compost during the growing season to help improve the overall soil quality. In a pinch, you can add a balanced flower fertilizer. If you use prepared fertilizer products, always follow the instructions on the product label for application and usage. Maintenance This is a low-maintenance plant. At the end of the growing season, cut back the dead growth and mulch around your plants to protect the roots for the winter. During the growing season, keep the weeds pulled around your plants to minimize competition. Any time your plants become overcrowded and outgrow their allotted space, you can divide larger clumps and transplant the divisions to new areas.

Are you looking for a showy, long-lasting flower for your perennial garden? This easy-to-grow plant adds plenty of color to your garden and attracts pollinators, too! In this article, gardening enthusiast Liessa Bowen introduces the allure of wood betony and how to grow these spectacular plants. Wood betony, also known as purple betony (Betonica officinalis), is an easy-to-grow member of the mint family. It is native to Europe, Africa, and Asia. It is hardy, versatile, and easy to incorporate into a variety of landscape settings. This herbaceous perennial is showy and will liven up your garden with its colorful blooms rising above leafy rosettes. Use it as a ground cover, to fill in along edges and corners, or as a complimentary perennial among others in your cottage garden, pocket prairie, or butterfly garden. As with many other plants in the mint family, betony doesn’t require much care and attention. All you need to get started is one plant or a few seeds, and you’ll be well on your way to a healthy colony. These plants actually thrive with minimal attention; as long as you can help get them started and provide regular weed-pulling services, they’ll generally take care of themselves. Do you have room for wood betony in your garden? If so, keep reading to learn more about this appealing, easy-care perennial flower and how to best incorporate it into your landscape. Natural History Wood betony is native to Europe, western Asia, and Northern Africa. Within its native region, it is found in fields and meadows, parks and meadows, and sunny, open woodlands. It is widely adaptable and can be found in a variety of sunny habitats with temperate climates. The genus Betonica consists of many different herbaceous species, including various plants known as betony, hedge nettle, bishop’s wort, and woundwort. These various betony species are common wildflowers throughout their native range and may be considered weedy because they are so widespread. This valuable wildlife plant has also been used by humans throughout the ages. Betony has been used for medicinal and cultural purposes and is thought to bring luck and protect from harm. Betony is still used as a modern herb to treat assorted ailments. You can also brew betony leaves to make tea. Characteristics Betony forms dense patches of upright stems, spreading by both rhizomes and self-seeding. Like most mints, it has square stems and a distinctive strong scent. The heart-shaped leaves and stems are slightly hairy giving it a rough or soft feel. In warmer climates, betony leaves may stay evergreen during the winter months. In the spring, when the leaves first emerge, individual plants appear in dense clusters of basal rosettes. As the plants mature through the spring, they develop taller, leafy, flowering stems. These leaves grow in opposite pairs and are evenly toothed along the edges. Betony flowers bloom by late spring or early summer. The flowers form dense spiky clusters. Each individual flower is small, no more than a few millimeters long, and tubular with a distinctly speckled lower lip. Flowers are typically pinkish purple, although different species and cultivars of betony will have more varied flower colors. Due to its popularity as a garden perennial, there are several beautiful cultivars. You will find differences in the leaf shapes and sizes, and more notably differences in the flowering times and flower colors, although the flowers are typically shades of pink and purple. Propagation This plant is not only easy to grow, it is also very easy to propagate. You can start new plants from seed or divide established clumps to start new colonies. If you have access to mature plants, the quickest and easiest propagation method will be division. If you are starting from scratch, the most economical means to acquire new plants will be starting from seed. How to Grow This vigorous plant is easy to grow in the home garden. All you need is a temperate climate with a sunny plot and moist soil. Within a short period of time, you’ll be enjoying your showy betony flowers! Maintenance This is a low-maintenance garden plant. There are a few things you’ll want to manage in order to help your plants look their best. Since betony plants tend to form dense colonies over time, thin your plants regularly to prevent overcrowding. Prune back any dead or diseased stems and remove them from your garden to prevent re-infection of pests or diseases.