You are probably familiar with the colorful petunia flowers commonly sold as annuals at your local garden center. Did you know there are also wild petunias? In this article, gardening expert Liessa Bowen introduces these beautiful and easy-to-grow native wildflowers. Wild petunia (Ruellia humilis) is a wonderful wildflower that you can add to just about any garden layout. These versatile flowers look great in containers and raised beds. They are equally at home in a cottage garden or larger naturalized areas. These US-native flowering beauties have a long blooming period to liven up your garden throughout the spring, summer, and fall. They’ll also bring in the pollinators and attract plenty of attention from passers-by. They are medium-sized plants and just the right size to fit into any gardening theme. These will reseed each year, so you’ll never be without a few wild petunias. If you are looking for a plant to come back reliably year after year, this is a great choice. You’ll only need one plant to start a population. Once you have a healthy plant, it’s easy to propagate and establish a healthy patch of these colorful flowers. Now, let’s dig a little deeper to learn more about these wonderful plants and all the ways you can use them to enhance your home garden. Plant Natural History Wild petunia is native to much of the central and eastern United States, with the exception of the northern Great Plains States and New England. They grow naturally in prairies and glades, grasslands, along roadways, and along forest edges. In many places throughout their range, they are so common that they are considered to be roadside weeds and even naturally appear in lawns and gardens. Wild petunias are part of the Acanthus family (Acanthaceae) which contains approximately 2500 species throughout the world. Most of these plants are from tropical regions, although some grow in temperate regions. The wild petunias of the genus Ruellia contain over 300 unique species of often colorful and ornamental plants. Characteristics Wild petunia is an herbaceous perennial wildflower. Each year, these plants form multi-stemmed clusters of upright, leafy stems topped with delicate-looking flowers. Dense clusters have an appealing rounded form. The leaves are simple and grow as opposite pairs along the entire length of the stems. Each leaf is an elongated oval, measuring up to three inches long and one inch wide. The leaves stay solid green throughout the growing season and are slightly fuzzy to the touch, being covered with a fine layer of soft, downy hairs. Flowers appear in late summer and persist throughout the summer and into mid-fall. The blooms are showy, with a thin, delicate appearance, but don’t let that fool you. These flowers are surprisingly tough, surviving full sun and other harsh conditions. Their pale lilac color is very attractive without being gaudy. Each flower has a broadly open face with five petals, narrowing to a thin, trumpet-like tube at the base. Flowers frequently display darker purple stripes within the tubular openings. Individual flowers generally bloom for a single day and then drop off. Propagation It’s very easy to propagate wild petunias because they readily propagate themselves. Starting from scratch, you can obtain seeds and start your own plants. If you already have wild petunias in your yard, propagate your established plants by collecting seeds, taking stem cuttings, or dividing larger clusters. Do not dig or remove wildflowers from their natural habitats. How to Grow Wild petunias are easy to grow. These plants are highly adaptable and well-suited for many varied conditions. Make sure to offer them a location with plenty of sunlight and generally moist soil, and they should perform well with minimal trouble. Maintenance Wild petunias generally grow very well without regular maintenance. You will, however, end up with ever-increasing patches of petunias. Help keep your petunia patch looking great by thinning any unwanted seedlings each spring. This will allow more spacing between plants and allow them to look their best.

A delightfully airy plant with beautiful heart-shaped flowers, the Pacific bleeding heart is a must-have perennial in the shade garden. Learn where this native plant will thrive and how to give it the best care with native plant gardener Jerad Bryant. Some plants wow growers with their hardiness, and others with their ornamental attributes. Very rarely does a plant come along that exemplifies both. Pacific bleeding heart does, and it is as hardy as it is beautiful. Scientifically Dicentra formosa, this shade-loving perennial spreads through rhizomes and seeds to slowly blanket an area. Plant one this year, and you’ll have bunches of pendulous heart-shaped flowers each spring. This plant grows foliage that is as ornamental as the flowers, and they delicately divide into fern-like fronds. This native thrives in the Pacific Northwest but grows successfully throughout the U.S. with the proper care and maintenance. Follow this simple care guide and learn all you need to know to grow Pacific bleeding heart. What Is Pacific Bleeding Heart? As its name suggests, this plant is native to the Pacific Coast and the wet forests near the coastline. It creeps and crawls along airy soil to form strands of fern-like foliage and pink-white heart-shaped flowers. In the forest, it stands out among other plants, and in the garden, it creeps as a ground cover for shady areas. This bleeding heart is different than the common one Dicentra spectabilis in that it is smaller, and it is native to North America. The common bleeding heart is native to Japan and does not have as finely divided foliage. Although it is an old garden favorite, native species of Dicentra are quickly surpassing its popularity. Other than its ornamental beauty, plant this native for its beneficial offerings to the local ecosystem. This plant has a unique appendage on its seeds that is rich in oil called an elaiosome. Ants love eating this oil, and they carry the seeds to new places when they discard them after feasting. Besides ants, bees, native birds, and beetles enjoy the seeds, foliage, and flowers. A true perennial, this plant prefers a long dormancy during cold winter months. Then, in the early spring, bunches of fern-like foliage grow out of the ground before clusters of heart-shaped flowers. The flowers give way to the foliage, which stays green until fruits form from the flowers. After an entire year, the plant dies back to its rhizomes beneath the soil, and it conserves its energy so that it can sprout again. History Unlike most native plants cultivated widely, the Pacific bleeding heart was famous for garden use in the U.K. before the United States. Scottish botanist Archibald Menzies encountered it on his travels along the Pacific Coast. He collected its seeds and sent samples back to Kew Gardens. From there, Kew propagated the plant and spread it throughout the U.K. After its wide use in the U.K., American gardens caught up and started featuring the Pacific variety instead of the common one from Japan. Nowadays naturalists use this plant widely in renaturalization projects, and gardeners highly favor it the world over. Native Americans use it as a remedy for skin issues and back pain. The scientific name Dicentra means “two-spurred” in Latin and references the two points that come off of the heart-shaped part of the flower. Formosa means “beautiful and well-formed.” Any onlooker of this stately plant can see the name fits well! Native Area Pacific bleeding heart is native to the Pacific Northwest, and it grows naturally from British Columbia down to central California along the coast in forests and woodlands. It prefers light, airy soil with good drainage and lots of water during the growing season. Because it grows naturally in forests, this U.S. native thrives in dappled shade with protection from direct sunlight. It benefits from pockets of intermittent light throughout the day. In the forest, light passes through the trees sporadically, and this plant benefits from the occasional sunray. This perennial commonly grows alongside other shade-loving forest floor dwellers like evergreen violets, Western fairy slippers, and fawn lilies. Ferns like the Western sword-fern, mosses, and lichens also grow profusely where this wildflower resides. In my garden, this plant slowly spreads each year under the shade of a tall Douglas fir tree, and it thrives without much intervention. Characteristics Identify this plant easily by looking for its flowers, leaves, and structure. It typically grows to heights of one-and-a-half feet and widths of three feet or wider. From the ground in early spring, shoots of blue-green foliage sprout up. Then, stems with no leaves and clusters of pendant pink-white flowers bloom profusely. The flowers look like cut-open hearts with blood dripping down, which is where the plant’s interesting name comes from. In the wild, this plant blankets woodland areas with conducive conditions for its growth. It spreads readily underground through fleshy and tubular root structures called rhizomes. This native also uses seeds to spread itself, and it employs ants to disperse these seeds by growing the oil-rich coating they eat. In the fall, as temperatures dip below freezing, this plant dies back to its rhizomes and disappears above ground. Even in areas where winters are mild, this perennial dies back and rests for a season before sprouting to flourish in the other three. Uses Plant this Pacific Northwest native for its ornamental attributes and the wealth of natural resources it offers local wildlife. This plant is toxic for humans, and so I recommend not planting it in the vegetable garden. Situate it in an area you’d like nature to reclaim, as the shade it provides in the spring and summer creates a habitat for all sorts of bugs and critters on the soil. In reforesting and naturalizing initiatives in the Pacific Northwest, this plant settles into new areas with ease. It is helpful as a deciduous ground cover in woodlands, forests, and shaded meadows. Plant one alongside shade-loving shrubs like snowberry and serviceberry, and trees like bigleaf maple and Douglas fir. Where To Buy Buy seeds or plants to try growing this perennial at home. Live plants are easier to transplant into the garden than starting from seed. However, seed starting is a rewarding process for the adventurous gardener. Try the species plant for gorgeous pink blooms, or try a fun cultivar like ‘Zestful’ with a longer bloom period and darker flowers. Planting Three options exist for the home gardener to establish this plant in the landscape–seed germination, live plant transplanting, or rhizome division. Rhizome division and live-plant transplanting are easier, however, growing plants from seeds is a fun experiment, and seed-grown plants often exhibit unique characteristics because of their genetic variability. To grow this plant from seed, first stratify the seeds for 60-90 days in the refrigerator, or plant them directly into the garden in the fall. If using the fridge method, put seeds in an airtight container with sand that is moist but not soggy. Take the container out of the fridge once the 90 days are up, and plant seeds in a shady area after your last frost date. Cover them with a thin layer of soil no thicker than a quarter-inch. Keep seeds and their soil moist until they germinate. Seedlings quickly mature, although they may not flower their first year. After a summer aboveground and a winter belowground, your plants should sprout their famous heart-shaped flowers next spring. If you’re opting for transplanting or dividing, the process is a bit simpler. When dividing, first locate a mature clump. Then, in the fall, once the plant goes dormant, dig up part of the plant and sever the rhizomes. Plant the severed rhizomes a few inches deep in shady areas, and they’ll sprout and flower in the spring! Transplant potted live plants in the fall or spring when the weather is mild and temperatures are cool. This ensures your transplants have time to establish themselves before the summer heat arrives in full force. Water your plants well while they establish themselves, and continue irrigating throughout the growing season if rainfall is low. How to Grow Pacific bleeding hearts stand out as stately specimens in the shade garden. With dappled shade, ample water, and airy soil, your plants will thrive each year. Once established, these perennials are no-fuss ground covers with little maintenance. Maintenance This North American native plant requires little, if any, maintenance. Each year it dies back, and its foliage yellows and browns before falling to the floor. There, it decays and adds key nutrients back into the soil. When given space to freely roam, this perennial spreads and thrives with little intervention on the gardener’s part.

The rutabaga plant looks like a giant yellowish-brown turnip, but these "swedes" are slightly different. They are sweeter than a turnip, can be cooked like a potato, and eaten raw in a salad. Kaleigh Brillon explains the growing tips and more. Rutabaga is severely underrated and is something you should grow in your garden. It’s related to the turnip but is usually sweeter and won’t taste like a radish as turnips sometimes can. Rutabaga likes cool weather and can be grown in the spring and fall in most parts of the US. What can you do with rutabagas, you ask? You can cook the roots as you would a potato –mashed, roasted, hasselback, or spiralized into a veggie noodle. They can be eaten raw in a salad or blended into a soup. The leaves are good to eat, too, tasting much like turnip greens, so you can enjoy the entire plant. Rutabagas are relatively easy to grow and don’t require much room in the garden, so they’re great for new gardeners or those growing in small spaces. If the conditions are right, you can store rutabagas in the ground with a hefty layer of mulch and pull them out when you need them throughout winter. Talk about convenience! Whether you’re new to rutabagas or have heard of them before, let’s get into the details so you can plant seeds and grow this versatile root in your garden. What is Rutabaga? Brassica napus var. napobrassica, commonly called the rutabaga, swede, Russian turnip in Northern Europe, or if you’re in the northern parts of North America, table turnip or Swedish turnips, is a cross between the turnip and wild cabbage. Native Area It’s believed that rutabagas originated in the 17th century near the Czech Republic. They became popular in the US in the early 1900s when they started to be used as a food source for livestock. However, growing them was too much work, so farmers stopped using them. The idea came back in the 1970s when farmers realized they were a good forage crop, meaning they could throw rutabaga seed out for the livestock and let the plants grow themselves. Characteristics The leaves of these Russian turnips are covered with prickly hairs. Rutabagas are fairly turnip-shaped, although they’re a bit more cylindrical toward the bottom of the root. Although there are some purple varieties, they’re more likely to be brown or yellow rather than a turnip’s typical purple and white. Mature garden-grown rutabagas tend to be about the size of a grapefruit, and if allowed to go to seed, they will develop small yellow flowers. It’s not just for livestock, though! You can sauté the greens or use young leaves in salads, or make some rutabaga root fries, au gratin rutabagas, or roast the roots with vegetables and garnish with rutabaga leaves. Planting Growing rutabagas requires cool weather when they mature since heat will turn them bitter. If you live in a warm climate, you’ll get the best results with a fall crop. To plant in the fall, count back 90 days from the first average fall frost since rutabagas need 80-100 days to mature. You can plant rutabaga seeds for spring planting as soon as the ground isn’t frozen. If you choose to grow these plants in a container, give them plenty of room to grow to their full potential. A container that’s 10-12 inches deep with a similar diameter will be ideal, although you could go just a bit smaller if you need to. To plant rutabaga seeds, place up to three seeds in a shallow hole. If you’re planting in a row, space the plants about two inches apart. Rows should be about two feet apart. Once the seedlings emerge, thin rutabagas, so there is only one seedling per hole. It should take about ten days for you to grow rutabaga seedlings. Once the first true leaves have emerged, thin them to be eight inches apart. Rutabaga foliage is edible, so you can toss extra seedlings into a salad or add the plants to your compost bin. How to Grow It’s easy to grow rutabagas when you understand their needs. If you can give them sun, keep them watered, and watch out for pests, you’ll be harvesting rutabagas in no time! Maintenance Pruning isn’t required, but you may want to pick young leaves to sauté. Be careful only to take a few leaves per plant, though, so the plant has enough leaves to keep growing. Other than that, they need very little maintenance.