KY Garden Flowers - Chelone to Consolida

*Chasmanthium*	*Chiondoxa*	*Cimicifuga*	*Coleus*
*Chelone*	*Chrysanthemum*	*Cleome*

Chasmanthium latifolium – Northern Sea Oats, River Oats, Spangle Grass

Flower Color	Height	Season	Pests	Uses	Propagation
brown	24"- 40"	summer	few	along stream or pond, border, wildflower garden	division, seed

Performance – River oats is native to Kentucky and a reliable perennial in Kentucky landscapes. This ornamental grass is relatively common in stands along creeks across the state. The plant grows best with some shade during the day, but will grow in full sun as well. Plants will do better in wetter sits or with regular irrigation. The pendulous flower heads are quite striking in summer.

Comments – River oats can be quite invasive with underground rhizomes and seed propagation, so it should be placed where it will not invade other plants. It may be less invasive in drier sites or where plants are not irrigated frequently.


River Oats

Pink Turtlehead

Chelone lyonii - Pink Turtlehead

Flower Color	Height	Season	Pests	Uses	Propagation
pink	24"- 40"	late summer	few	along stream or pond, border, wildflower garden	division, tip cuttings, seed

Performance - Pink turtlehead must be grown in soils that are consistently moist to wet for it to be a good perennial in Kentucky landscapes. It is native to the state and southeastern region.

Comments - If propagating by seed, turtlehead requires a 6 week stratification period for best germination. Pinching the plant in spring will give the plant a bushy appearance, so staking is not necessary.

Glory-of-the-Snow

Chiondoxa lucilae - Glory-of-the-Snow

Flower Color	Height	Season	Pests	Uses	Propagation
blue with white center	4"- 6"	early spring	few	bedding, naturalized	bulb offsets

Performance - Glory-of-the-snow is a perennial spring flowering bulb that is reliable in Kentucky gardens. These plants flower just as the snow disappears in late February or early March.

Comments - The flowers are relatively small, so place the plants in beds near where you walk in the spring or you may not see them flower.

Chrysanthemum - Mums and Daisies

Chrysanthemums were one of the first ornamental plants to be domesticated more than 2000 years ago. Most plants do not look like their native counterparts because of the breeding and selection that humans have competed over the centuries. Thus, there are many scientific names and confusing groups that are not clear to most gardeners.

Chrysanthemum coccineum - Painted Daisy, Pyrethrum

Chrysanthemum frutescens - Marguerite Daisy, Cobbitty Daisies^TM – also called Argyranthemum frutescens.

Chrysanthemum x morifolium - Garden Chrysanthemum, Fall Blooming Mum, Hardy Mum

Flower Color	Height	Season	Pests	Uses	Propagation
white, yellow, bronze, lavender, red	1-3 ft.	late summer, early fall	aphids, spider mites, thrips, leaf hoppers	border, cut	seed, cuttings, division

Performance - Garden mums are fall flowering plants common in Kentucky landscapes. There are many different plants that can be included in this group, some are reliable perennials but most will be annual or short-lived perennials depending on variety and weather conditions. Garden mums should be planted in full sun; they will stretch and become floppy in partial shade. Good garden soils are fine and the plants should be fertilized each month during the summer. Some cultivars require pinching until July to keep the plants compact and attractive. Ideally they should be divided each spring.

Comments - Plants are commonly available from late August to late October across the state. You may also find smaller garden mums available in the spring. It may be best to plant smaller plants in the spring, so they will become established and better able to tolerate our winter weather. Many garden mums are reliably hardy north of Kentucky, but our weather is more variable and plants are less hardy in the state. Garden mums sold in flower in the fall are modern varieties that have not been bred for winter hardiness in Kentucky. You may look for older varieties in older landscapes or from garden mum specialty nurseries if you want to have plants that will be reliable perennials in your garden.

Varieties - 'Prophet' series (patented by Yoder, Inc.), 'Belgian' series (patented by Van Zanten N.A.). Garden mums are also called Dendranthema x grandiflorum.


Garden mum – ‘Sunny Denise’	Shasta Daisy – ‘Becky’

Chrysanthemum pacificum - Silver and Gold

Chrysanthemum rubellum - Hybrid Red Chrysanthemum

Chrysanthemum x superbum - Shasta Daisy

Flower Color	Height	Season	Pests	Uses	Propagation
white	12"- 40"	spring, summer	aphids	border, cut	seed, division

Performance - Shasta daisies have a variable performance record in Kentucky gardens. They seem to die for no apparent reason or can become a weedy pest. These cool season plants probably suffer from summer drought more than anything. These plants should be grown in well-drained soils in sunny gardens. Divide every 2-3 years.

Varieties - 'Alaska', 'Aglaia', 'Becky', 'Esther Read', 'Marconi', 'Polaris', 'Snow Lady', ‘Thomas Killen’, 'Wirral Pride'. Shasta daisy is also called Leucanthemum x superbum.

More information and photos in HortFacts 50.11 06 – Mums and Daisies.

Cimicifuga racemosa - Black Snakeroot, Black Cohosh, Bugbane

Flower Color	Height	Season	Pests	Uses	Propagation
white	5 - 8 ft.	late summer	few	border	seed, division

Performance - Cimicifuga is a reliable perennial in Kentucky landscapes. It grows best in full sun to partial shade, in a moist soil with high organic matter. It is a native woodland plant, so naturalized areas tend to compliment it. Its tall nature may require staking. This plant fills in rapidly and does well at the back of the border. The tall, white spire blooms last for several weeks.

Comments - Cimicifuga is thought to have insecticidal properties. Seeds are very difficult to germinate, so fresh seed is important. Division is only necessary to propagate, otherwise it can remain untouched. The plants have a deep root system and do not divide well.

Varieties - 'Atropurpurea'

Cleome hasslerana - Spider Flower

Flower Color	Height	Season	Pests	Uses	Propagation
white, pink, lavender	3 - 8 ft.	summer and fall	few	border	seed

Performance - Spider flower is a traditional annual flower seen in Kentucky gardens. This is a large plant that is great for the background of flower gardens. Spider flower tolerates the heat and drought of Kentucky summers; they grow in full sun and typical garden soils.

Comments - Spider flower self sows quite easily, so once you have planted it, you will have it for a few years or more. It is not commonly sold at garden stores because it is tall and does not flower easily in the spring. It will not come back in your garden if you use pre-emergent herbicides.

Varieties - 'Queen' series, ‘Sparkler’ series.


‘Queen’ spider flower in late summer	‘Sparkler’ series at Goldsmith Seed Co.

Coleus x hybridus - Coleus

Flower Color	Height	Season	Pests	Uses	Propagation
blue, small	10"- 36"	summer	leaf spots, aphids, mealybugs	edging, borders, containers	seed, cuttings

Performance - Coleus is an outstanding, reliable annual plant grown in Kentucky gardens for the colorful foliage that ranges in color from yellow, pink, maroon, red, white to green in many patterns. The seed propagated coleus varieties are typically grown in shade or partial shade, while the cutting propagated types usually do best in full sun. Many varieties have been introduced that are superb in full sun.

Comments - Some varieties flower quite easily and most gardeners would prune them to remove the flowers.

Varieties - 'Black Dragon', 'Carefree' mix, 'Rainbow' mix, 'Solar' series, 'Volcano', 'Wizard' series. Coleus is also called Solenostemon scutellariodes.


‘LifeLime’ and ‘Sedona’ at UK Arboretum	Coleus at Sakata Seed America

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