15 Easy to Grow Southern Wildflowers

This hardy, fall blooming perennial comes in shades of blue, purple and white. They will grow in many types of soil in sun to part shade. The small white ones grow well in wet woods. Some are low growing and mound shaped and many of the blue and purple will grow 6-8 feet tall. Asters can be pruned early in the year, before July 4th, to form a bushy shape.
White Fall Aster, Aster eriodes - White, small mounding plant found in wet woodlands
Blue Aster, Aster praeltus - Very tall purple-blue Aster found in many soils and conditions. Great for the back of a perennial border.
Savanna Aster, Symphyotrichum chapmanii - Beautiful large light purple flowers on a small attractive plant. Found in pineland savannahs.
Boltonia, Boltonia asteroides - airy, white aster-like perennial growing in moist conditions in full sun.

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The five species of Irises that are native to the coastal Southern United States are happy in wet areas or in flower beds. Irises grow from a rhizome and most have evergreen leaves. They grow in full sun to part shade and like moist soils. In the wild, native irises hybridize freely. The Louisiana Irises include both natural and many-made hybrids of the native varieties.

Copper Iris, Iris fulva - A deep copper-red iris, that is used by hummingbirds. It grows naturally in areas that are seasonally flooded, but does well in a flower bed or a rain garden.
Abbeyville Red, Super fulva, I. nelsonii - Colors from coppery red, brown to deep purple. Flowers are larger than the normal I. fulva. Plants were discovered in the area around Abbeyville, LA.
Southern Blue Flag Iris, I. virginica - Colors from almost white to dark blue. They grow well in wet places.
Zig-Zag Iris, I. brevicaulis - These dwarf plants with bright blue flowers are upland Irises that are happy in drier conditions.
Big Blue Iris, I. giganticaerulea - Giant blue iris of the swamps and marshes

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Blazing Star, Gayfeather Liatris pycnostachya - In fall a tall lavender spike of flowers shoots up from a grass-like clump of leaves. Liatris grows from a corm and is common in the pine-land savannahs. It does well in flower beds and rain gardens.

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Blooms in late summer and fall.
Cardinal Flower, Lobelia cardinalis - Beautiful red flowers on plants that can grow in garden soil or a wetlands, in part sun.
Big Blue Lobelia, L. siphilitica - Tall spikes of blue flowers. Similar growing conditions as L. cardinalis.
Pale Lobelia, Lobelia appendiculata - Tall spikes of bluish white flowers in late spring (April to June) in wet fields, prairie and pinelands. Can be grown in sunny rain gardens or low, damp parts of the yard.

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Bergamot, Monarda fistulosa - White to lavender balls of flowers in spring. Sun to part shade, well drained soil. All parts of the plant make a delicious tea. Unlike M. didyma, M. fistulosa will bloom consistently in the coastal south.
Bee Balm, Monarda didyma - Red Bee Balm grows in full to part sun, well drained soil. Blooms in spring.
Spotted Horsemint, Monarda punctata - Spotted Horsemint grows in full sun and is drought resistant. Blooms in late summer and fall.

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Monarda fistulosa, Bergamot

Blooms in spring.
Blue Phlox, Louisiana Phlox, Phlox divaricata - Phlox divaricata comes in colors ranging from pink to purplish blue. Grows in sun to part shade in well drained soil.
Downy Phlox, Phlox pilosa - Colors range from pink to purple and white. Prefers sandy acid soil, rich or poor and is drought resistant.

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Blooms in spring and summer
Black-eyed Susan, Rudbeckia hirta - can be a perennial, but is usually an annual. Reseeds easily. Full sun to part shade, well drained soil.
Orange Rudbeckia, Rudbeckia fulgida - More reliable perennial. Full sun to part shade, well drained soil.
Giant Coneflower, Rudbeckia maxima - can grow to 6 ft. tall. Flowers have a large brown cone shaped seed head. Grows in moist well drained soil in full sun.

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Blooms in spring.
Carolina Rose, Rosa carolina - single pink flowers on small bushes. Forms clusters by underground runners. Sun to part shade.
Swamp Rose, Rosa palustris - semi-double pink flowers on draping bushes. Grows in moist, well drained soil, full sun to part shade.

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Rough Skullcap, Scutellaria integrefolia - blue clusters of flowers in spring on 1-2 foot plants. Full sun to part shade.

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Blooms from spring to frost
Scarlett Sage, Salvia coccinea - flowers are red, white or coral. Grows in well drained soil and is drought tolerant. Full sun or part shade, tender perennial.

Lyre-leaf Sage, Salvia lyrata - early blooming light blue spikes of flowers shoot up from rosettes of lyre shaped leaves in spring. It can be used as a ground cover in shady or in lieu of exotic turf grass. After flowers fade, cut with the lawnmower set up high and the leaf rosettes continue to cover the area. Lyre-leaf Sage signals the return of the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds in spring.

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Indian Pink, Spigelia marilandica - Hummingbird favorite, Beautiful clusters of red flowers with yellow throats bloom from spring into summer. Prefers rich, moist woodland settings, shade to part sun.

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Blooms in late spring.
Stokes Aster, Stokesia laevis - is a low growing drought resistant biennial with lovely blue flowers which attract butterflies and other pollinators.

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Violets are an excellent ground cover for shady or part sunny areas. The flowers can be blue, purple or white. The leaves and flowers are edible. Violas are the host plant for the Variegated Fritillary Butterfly.
Birdfoot Violet, Viola pedata - likes full sun. The leaves are deeply toothed like the foot of a bird. Spring flowers are pansy like and come in shades of blue, with one bicolored variety that has purple upper petals.
Early Blue Violet, viola palmata - grows in high open shade and has early spring dark blue flowers. Foliage is deeply toothed, but more hand like than birdfoot violet.
Langlois Violet, Viola langloisii - grows in hardwood forest areas and pale blue flowers bloom in early spring. Leaves are ovate-triangular like most violas.
White Bog Violet, Viola primulifolia - is a violet of the wetlands in both pine and hardwood areas. White blooms occur from late winter through spring. Leaves are triangular, but more blade like than blue violets and grow from white cord-like stolons.

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