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Rock garden native plants? Ideas sought

heirloomapplenut_pa

17 years ago

I have some free rocks right now, courtesy of the neighbor's bulldozer. So I am expanding my rock garden, now at 30' long. (Max length is 150 feet, but that requires lots of hauling rocks!)

Rock garden is under an oak canopy, and slopes down to the driveway. The following things are doing well: sedum, chives, strawberries (almost enought light), daffodils, sasafras. And the very evil English Ivy.

I am going to to buying plants for the expanded rock garden, and I would prefer natives. I found this list of natives from http://www.greenroofplants.com (located in MD, so its not so far from me):

Sedum divergens

Sedum lanceolatum

Sedum oreganum

Sedum stenopetalum

Sedum telephioides

Sedum ternatum

Talinum calycinum

Talinum parvifolium

Talinum rugosperum

I am looking for suggestions on sturdy, durable rock garden native plants that can survive with no care. And if they will spread and take over, thats even better! I will be planting in large masses, with gravel mulch. Opunita is another posibillity

Thanks!

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Comments (6)

macranthos
17 years ago
How native are you going for? PA plants, Eastern plants, US plants or just North America? ie, you have Sedum oreganum on your list, but it's native only to WA, OR, CA and might not like the wet PA summers, but I don't know (as might many western rock plants).

Other things that might work are your native Heuchera, Columbine, Coreopsis, Geranium, Iris, Penstemon etc and maybe Blue mountain heath, though it's only native to ME, NH & VT.

Best,
Ross
janet_e
17 years ago
These are the natives in my rock garden:

Aquilegia canadensis
Hypoxis hirsuta
Silene caroliniana, virginica, and regia
Verbena canadensis (prefers full sun, but does OK in half-day sun)
Phlox subulata (also prefers full sun, but it's so lovely that it's worth trying in a shadier area)
Penstemon hirstutus
Dicentra canadensis (surprisingly tolerant of very well-drained soil)
Viola sagittata
Antennaria neglecta
Arctostaphylos uva-ursi
Potentilla tridentata (a surprisingly handsome plant in the garden; the leaves are evergreen and turn a lovely purplish color in winter)
Aster linariifolius
Aster spectabilis
Carex pensylvanica
Potentilla canadensis

Sedum ternatum and S. telephioides seem like really good plants for your situation, but I have my doubts about some of the others on that list -- talinums tend to like full, blazing sun.
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I have some additional native plants growing in my rock garden. Most of these don't require a rocky environment, but they often grow in rocky areas in the wild. Arctostaphylos uva-ursi Aster linariifolius Hypoxis hirsuta Aquilegia canadensis Asclepias verticillata Campanula rotundifolia Silene caroliniana Antennaria neglecta Corydalis sempervirens (an annual for me, but self-sows) Phlox subulata Penstemon hirsutus var. pygmaeus Potentilla tridentata Leiophyllum buxifolium is a wonderful plant, but particular in its requirements. In the wild, it grows in areas of moist, acidic sand, and not, as far as I know, in rocky areas. I doubt it would object to growing in a rock garden, but be sure to give it very acidic soil. Since you're interested in rock gardening, you might think about joining the North American Rock Garden Society. They have a seed exchange that is a good source of unusual native seeds -- I got a number of the plants listed above through their seed exchange or from other members of the society. Here is a link that might be useful: North American Rock Garden Society
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yarthkin
17 years ago
The native eastern talinium (teretifolium) does okay in part sun, but won't bloom as well. (In the wild, I've even found it in full shade.) That said, most of our true alpine type rock plants which are succulent or form cushions will require full sun. I agree Sedum ternatum would be a notable exception. I haven't tried telephiodes in part sun or shade, mine is in full sun and I tend to find it in full sun in the wild. I haven't heard about folks growing Blue Mountain Heath (Phyllodoce caerulea?) as far south as PA, but I'd be interested to know if it is possible so I can attempt it in the mountains of VA!

I've been trying to explore south-eastern rock gardening too, and while there are lots of great rock plants in the wild, there don't seem to be too many in the nursery trade. Alot of the pine barrens species would probably work well but I cant find a source for any of them. There are also some granite and shale barren species that are really interesting, but few of those seem to be available either. There have even been a few articles in the American Rock Garden Society journal about south eastern rock plants for gardens but I haven't found almost any of them in the trade.

I'd say one of the best species I've found which is commercially available is Cumberland Rosemary. It is isn't a Pennsylvania native (or a VA one, for that matter) but it is an eastern native which does well in hot summers, has spectacular flowers, and can be used in cooking like European rosemary. It'll probably take part sun but won't look nearly as nice. Another great underused plant is Virginia Agave (Manfreda virginica). It is basically a small agave with fragrant flowers.

Janet_e had some good suggestions, and many of those would work well in your situation.
rsmallen
17 years ago
In my (very) small rocky garden area I have sedum ternatum, aquilegia canadensis, potentilla tridentata.

Robin
ahughes798
17 years ago
Hey! You have enough suggestions here to fill the spot of the English Ivy! Get rid of that stuff...LOL!
hello85
17 years ago
Hi,

How are you?

Wondering if you might have gotten any seeds of Talinum calycinum and would like to trade?

Thanks much,
God bless,
Jeff

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