nice on-line resource

[rainbowgardener]

I just discovered this https://www.wildflower.org/plants/. It is a searchable database of native plants for US. Put in your state and whatever other specifications you want (type of plant like tree, shrub, grass, forb, etc, sun exposure, soil moisture, bloom time) and it pops you up a list of natives for that situation. I put in Ohio and shade and got a list of 459 plants. Since I hadn't specified anything else, it was everything from ferns, wildflowers, grasses to trees. The list gives scientific name, common name, and picture. Then you can click on each one for more information. It was an interesting list with things that are very common, even weeds (lambsquarter) to things I'd never heard of. I will definitely be using it more to help develop my native woodland shade garden. Enjoy!

[cynthia_h]

Terrific! The only quibble I have is that the database will only search for native plants, whereas several of the ones I'd like to identify are (most likely) imported weeds. *sigh*

I'll have more fun with it later, definitely!

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

[rainbowgardener]

If you don't care about native, that's easier. Here's a couple of searchable databases

https://www.garden.org/plantfinder/ Can search by plant type, USDA zone, moisture, sun, height, color, season of bloom, foliage color, special features (attracts birds, butterflies, a North American native, drought tolerant, etc)

I put my post in the native plant section. What I was excited about was info and an easy way to find suggestions for LOCALLY native plants.

[AmyEm]

Thanks for posting this--very helpful!