Opposites Attract

Photos and text by Scott Woodbury

Missouri Wildflowers Nursery

9814 Pleasant Hill Rd Jefferson City MO 65109 www.mowildflowers.net mowldflrs@socket.net

573-496-3492

Meet us at one of these locations in St. Louis. Give us your order by Tuesday before a sale, and we will bring it to the location.

Kirkwood Farmer’s Market, 150 East Argonne Dr. Kirkwood MO63122. Give us your order by Tuesday before a sale, or pick from the selection at the market. April 29, and May 20 & 27; 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Shaw Nature Reserve, 307 Pineton Loop, Gray Summit MO 63039. Event: “Shaw Nature Reserve Spring Wildflower Market,” May 6, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Member’s only sale Friday, May 5, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. www.shawnature.org.

Shopping at our Brazito (Jefferson City) location: Our retail store is open for you to make selections. You can also place an order and pick it up at the nursery.

Hours: Weekdays: Year - Round: 9 AM - 5 PM

Weekends: March 18 - July 2 & August 26 - October 15 in full sun, it can tolerate partial shade. It has the ability to grow in acidic soils (pH 4-6), as well as neutral soils (pH 6-8).

Saturdays: 9 AM - 5 PM, Sundays: Noon - 5 PM We can ship your order! We ship plants on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays all year. UPS usually delivers the next day to Missouri and the surrounding states. Shipping charges apply.

If you have acidic soil, you may also have success with goat’s rue (Tephrosia virginiana), Sampson’s snakeroot (Orbexilum pedunculatum), and fire pink (Silene virginica). My favorite companion plant for leadplant is prairie groundsel (Packera plattensis), a lowgrowing evergreen groundcover (5-7 inches), that fills in around the stems of this tiny, opengrowing shrub. When the groundsel is fully mature, it makes the perfect green (living) mulch. But be sure to not smother it in winter with fallen tree leaves. Yes, I like keeping fallen tree leaves in the garden where they lie, but here is the exception to the rule. Like all groundsels, this evergreen will thin out or disappear if covered with leaves in the winter. Remember, it’s an evergreen plant.

On the other hand, indigo bush grows in wetlands and along creeks and rivers. It is an 8-foot (tall and wide) carefree rocket ship, traveling at the speed of sound. When it sees leadplant in the garden, it says “See you later, alligator”!

In Missouri gardens, indigo bush matures quickly in any soil type, even clay. It prefers full sun, but will grow in partial shade. It is more upright and leggy in shady places (allowing other plants to grow beneath it), and fuller and broader in full sun (shading out most other plants). In the Pacific Northwest, it has become invasive in wet areas. Today’s lesson, my friends, grow plants that are native in your region; invasive species are no joke. Now the best part: Both of these shrubs have the most stunning flowers. Lead plant has purplish lavender flower spikes with gold pollen. The flowers contrast nicely with the plant’s fine-textured, gray foliage, and it blooms with butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa)‚ the orange and purple flowers creating a spicy combination!

Indigo bush has similar, but dusky plum, flower spikes that also have gold pollen. The flowers are like tiny jewels. I like planting these close to a patio, walkway, or windows, because the flowers are so dark and are overlooked (by humans!) in the landscape. The bees won’t mind though; both species are massive pollinator magnets.

I hope you come to enjoy these two tried-and-true winners as much as I do. Both plants have staying power and will turn heads in your neighborhood. Happy gardening, y’all!