And with that lovely image…
Today’s featured plants all like to flower in fall: Symphyotrichum ‘Short Sands Purple’, Dicliptera suberecta and Persicaria ‘Golden Arrow’.
Once upon a time there was a genus known as Aster. Easy to remember and say. But it turned out there were distinct genera hiding under the name Aster and no one likes imposters. Consequently, what might have once been an unusually dark purple daisy thingy particular to these parts (read: native aster) is now called Symphotrichum! Lucky for you, growing it’s a lot easier than saying or spelling it. Whether you’re planting in sand or clay, ‘Short Sands Purple’ – and we’re talking rich purple – starts blooming in August and might get you through the darkest fall.
Dicliptera suberecta’s got several common names but all share one word: hummingbird. (Oops. Now seeing it’s also called the Uruguayan firecracker plant). Expect deliciously hot tubular flowers set off by furry gray foliage on a super tidy 2’x2’ plant. Talk about easy, this is one of those hellstrip plants that loves to bake in full sun. Give it well-drained soil and it will give you about six weeks of solid orange-red blooms. Be patient in spring, it’s late to emerge, so don’t forget where you planted it.
Lastly a perennial that doesn’t even need flowers to show off: Persicaria ‘Golden Arrow’, a selection of mountain fleece. Persicarias can be grabby beasts, taking up way too much real estate, but ‘Golden Arrow’ simply wants enough room to flex and be beautiful, with its chartreuse foliage and flower spikes of deep ruby. At its happiest it’ll reach 2-3’ tall and wide but ours hasn’t gotten there even after several years, probably because it competes with pine tree roots and only gets morning sun. ‘Golden Arrow’ can take full sun, just know you’ll need to keep it watered. Sun or shade, a real stunner.
More plants on sale Saturday:
www.northcoastbbq.com/2025/09/14/meet-the-plants-from-the-wg-plant-sale-9-20-day-one/
www.northcoastbbq.com/2025/09/15/countdown-to-the-wg-plant-sale-continues/
www.northcoastbbq.com/2025/09/16/three-more-plants-for-sale-saturday-at-the-wonder-garden/
