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Plant Sale 2025 – Asarum canadense

April 14, 2025

Asarum canadense (Wild Ginger) is a great groundcover for dappled shade. It likes rich, damp soils and grow from 4 to 12 inches tall with individual leaves reaching three to four inches across. Once established it will spread 6 to 8 inches in all directions yearly, shading out non-native plants.…

Plant Sale 2025 — Packera aurea

April 13, 2025

Packera aurea (Golden Ragwort) makes a very nice groundcover. The flowers look like deep yellow daisies and are in bloom for about three weeks. Not only is this plant beautiful, herbivores rarely eat it because it is toxic. While happiest in moist to wet soils in either sunny or shady…

Plant Sale 2025 — Geranium maculatum

April 3, 2025

Geranium maculatum (Wild Geranium or Wild Cranesbill) is a great plant to add to gardens: It reaches from ½ – 2 feet in height It grows in part shade such as dappled shade under trees The white, pink or more often purple blooms appear between April and June The palmate…

Plant Sale 2025 — Trillium grandiflorum

April 1, 2025

Trillium grandiflorum is known as both large-flowered trillium (the flower spans 3-4” across) or great white trillium. It is one of the showiest trilliums in Virginia. It is a woodland plant commonly found in the mountains and enjoys dappled shade and rich soils. Each flower consists of 3 white petals,…

Wildflower of the Year 2025: Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum)
Coming soon: VNPS offers Mayapple artwork on T-Shirts and other apparel. Mayapples are perennial herbaceous plants with thick fibrous roots that arise from a creeping rhizome. Each year the rhizome elongates about 6 to 20 cm in length, terminating in a bud for the subsequent year’s leafy stem and one or more buds for continuation…... Read more
February 8, 2025
Source: VNPS Blog
Red Maple, Acer rubrum
By Betsy Washington, Northern Neck Native Plant Society Red Maples, also called Swamp or Scarlet Maples, are known for their brilliant fall color. Now they may seem to be a surprising choice for the February Plant of the Month, but they are a true harbinger of spring, blooming in late winter often as early as…... Read more
February 5, 2025
Source: VNPS Blog
Inkberry, Ilex glabra
By Betsy Washington, Northern Neck Native Plant Society Inkberry or Gallberry is a great choice for the December Plant of the Month. This handsome broadleaf evergreen shrub typically grows slowly to about 5 – 8’ high and wide and has plenty of winter interest with its small narrowly ovate to lance-like dark green leaves that…... Read more
December 26, 2024
Source: VNPS Blog
Winged Sumac, Rhus copallinum
By Betsy Washington, Northern Neck Native Plant Society Winged Sumac is a beautiful large deciduous shrub that shines throughout the year but is especially vibrant when it ignites into a fiery crescendo in fall. Typically growing from 7 – 15’ tall, this sumac often spreads into large colonies by root suckers. As fall turns into…... Read more
November 20, 2024
Source: VNPS Blog
Sweet Goldenrod, Solidago odora
By Betsy Washington, Northern Neck Native Plant Society Sweet or Anise-scented Goldenrod is one of the earliest fall blooming Goldenrods to grace our open areas including open woods, fields, powerline cuts and roadsides each fall. Its golden plumes light up much of the Eastern United States from New Hampshire south to Texas on dry, often…... Read more
September 13, 2024
Source: VNPS Blog
Common Cut-leaf Coneflower, Rudbeckia laciniata
By Betsy Washington, Northern Neck Native Plant Society Common Cut-leaf Coneflower is a tall statuesque late summer-fall bloomer found throughout Virginia and stands above most perennials at heights 5 to 9 feet. Also known as Green-headed, Tall Coneflower, or Wild Golden Glow, it is widely distributed in open floodplain forests, alluvial swamps, seepage swamps, wet…... Read more
August 22, 2024
Source: VNPS Blog
Common Milkweed, Asclepias syriaca
By Betsy Washington, Northern Neck Native Plant Society The July Plant of the Month, Common Milkweed, is a lovely, robust, herbaceous perennial festooned with showy clusters of flowers from June to August. A member of the Milkweed genus, Asclepias, it often gets a bad rap for its rhizomatous roots that can spread aggressively; however, this…... Read more
July 20, 2024
Source: VNPS Blog
Southeastern Prickly-pear Cactus, Opuntia mesacantha
By Betsy Washington, Northern Neck Native Plant Society Southeastern Prickly-pear Cactus is certainly eye-catching when in bloom in late May and June and curious and just plain cool at any time of year. This native evergreen is technically a “shrub” although it grows only 6 – 12” high. It is indeed a member of the…... Read more
June 21, 2024
Source: VNPS Blog