Blackberry Lily identifies as an Iris

Poor Blackberry Lily experienced an identity crisis. For years it was Belamcanda chinensis. Then in 2005, pesky taxonomists examined the DNA sequence and determined that it is not a lily, not a blackberry, and not Belamcanda. Instead, this freckled redhead of the plant world has a new identity: Iris domestica.

Regardless of the binomial name, Blackberry Lily is one tough customer. Like most other members of the Iris family, it has swordlike, ten-inch-long leaves that rise like fans from a rhizome (bulb).  The rhizomes prefer well-drained soil and full sun, and are hardy in zones 5 through 10. Plants will rot in wet soils; they are drought tolerant once established. Blackberry Lilies flower in mid-summer and will continue through early autumn. Five-petal blooms are typically orange with a touch of yellow in the center and attractive red spots, which gives rise to another common name, Leopard Lily. Flowers are held above the leaves atop thin stems and are so profuse in number that the plants are best given support (think circular hoops like those used for peonies or dahlias) so they are not toppled by weight or summer thunderstorms.

Belamcanda – oops! I mean Iris domestica – rhizomes prefer a planting depth of five inches. Plants aren’t choosy about soil type or pH. They will be a bit shorter when grown in poor, dry soil. The rarer yellow form is shorter and requires more moisture and a richer soil than the typical orange flower.

Blooms result in clusters of shiny black seeds that look exactly like large blackberries. Left alone, plants will self-seed into large colonies. Plants look best when they are not allowed to become congested, so be generous and share divisions with your gardening buddies. Tattered or yellow leaves can be removed any time of the year. Both flowers and mature stems are used in flower arrangements.

Do not allow your cats, dogs, horses, or kids to ingest the flowers or blackberry-look-alike seeds; they are toxic. Flowers attract butterflies and are rarely bothered by other insects or diseases. This low-maintenance plant is easy to grow.

A Blackberry Lily bloom. Notice the numerous buds hiding behind this flower.

Blackberry Lily seed pod. "Blackberry Lily (DSC_0025), the blackberry." by Li-Ji is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Black And Blue Salvia

I’ve never met a Salvia that I didn’t like, and Salvia guaranitica ‘Black and Blue’ is at the top of the favorites list. They typically start blooming around Father’s Day in my zone 7b garden. To the delight of my hummingbirds, they opened much earlier this year (first blooms on May 8). The hummers ignore the feeders to sip nectar from the cobalt-blue blooms with black calyxes.

The Black and Blue specimen in the Mary Snoddy garden arrived as a 4-inch pot from the local nursery more than ten years ago. The first year was just okay, but the following years it flourished. The plant has spread by rhizomes and is now more than six feet across after numerous divisions. I have moved pieces to several locations throughout the grounds and given away countless divisions. It shows best when planted in masses rather than singles.

This is the tallest Salvia in the Snoddy garden, reaching five feet or more. It is an ideal candidate for the back of the flowerbeds. In the hottest part of the year (August), it usually takes a break from flowering. At that time, I use an electric hedge trimmer to cut it back to two feet. I give it a booster of liquid fertilizer after pruning and it rapidly regenerates and will bloom again about four weeks later. Flowering continues all the way to freezing weather. The top growth dies to the ground in winter and should be removed. Plants are perennial in zones 7 to 10, but can be grown as annuals in cooler areas. In zone 7, it is best to protect your dormant plants with a light winter mulch like pine needles.

Black and Blue is an easy plant to grow in full sun, with little to no supplemental irrigation. Oddly, several recipients of my divisions have reported failures after transplanting. I potted up a three-gallon container earlier this year, and for the first few weeks, I thought it was a goner. The top growth turned black and died. In the last week, it has regenerated from the roots and looks healthy. Perhaps it just resents disturbance. Black and Blue has the square stems typical of members of the mint family and is easily propagated by cuttings. I have rooted cuttings in both soil and water with equal success.

During its first year, Black and Blue grows thick, knotty rhizomes that resemble black fingerling potatoes. These underground storage chambers allow the plant to survive long periods of drought. Once established, it is truly a fuggedaboutit plant. Deer ignore it and the pollinators love it.

A honeybee visiting ‘Black and Blue’ Salvia

A large clump of ‘Black and Blue’ Salvia, begging for division.

Pretty Purple Ironweed

Here is another easy plant for all gardeners who like purple. Vernonia noveboracensis (pronounced ver-NOH-nee-ah no-vee-bor-ah-SEN-sis), “New York Ironweed” is ideal for hot, humid climates. Please don’t confuse this one with Veronica, a totally different plant.

Ironweed is tall and narrow. It has large clusters of tiny purple flowers mid-summer to late fall. The flowers attract butterflies and bees, so it is perfect for the back of a pollinator garden.  It blooms best in full sun, but will also tolerate half-sun. If the spent blooms are pruned away, the plant frequently will branch and re-bloom. If you forego the deadheading, finches and other seed-loving birds will visit to remove the seeds for you. Mine have occasionally reseeded. Baby plants are easy to relocate.

Ironweed prefers an acidic soil, so don’t bother with lime. They like moist soils that are high in organic matter, but will tolerate less water. Mine are planted in heavy clay soil and do well. The plant’s tolerance for varying moisture levels means it will do well in rain gardens.

Left alone, Ironweed will reach 6 to 8 feet in height. This is a little too tall to fit into the garden beds in the Mary Snoddy garden, so I cut it back by half in mid-May. This delays the flowering a bit, but the plant branches where it is cut back, so I end up with more flowers than if I had left it unpruned. The brilliant purple blooms pair well with most other colors. In this year’s annual bed, I grouped it with Melampodium, a wonderful annual that I will write about next week.

Ironweed dies completely to the ground in freezing weather.  The dead stems should be pruned off. It is perennial in most of the US (zones 5a to 9b). This one looks equally at home in mixed borders and wildflower plantings. Highly recommended!

Long-blooming Purple Coneflowers

Most perennials have shorter bloom periods than summer annuals. One that flowers for a lengthy time is Echinacea purpurea, Purple Coneflower.  In upstate South Carolina, the first blooms open in late spring (just after Mother’s Day) and continue all the way to frost. Purple was the original color of this prairie native that has been adapted to garden use. Hybridization expanded color choices to rose, orange-red, yellow, pink, magenta,  white and green. The Latin name came from the Greek word echinos, meaning hedgehog, a reference to the spiky orange central cone. The coarse leaves are a bit rough.

Coneflowers prefer full sun. They are heat resistant and will tolerate moderate drought. They are adaptable to various soil types and will grow in zones 3 to 9. They rarely need fertilizer. Cultivars vary in height but average 3-4 feet with a 2-3 foot spread.

Bumblebees and butterflies flock to the flowers. Blooms are long lasting, either on the plant or as cut flowers. Deadheading keeps the plant neater and forces fresh buds to form. I stop deadheading in autumn and allow the spent flowers to remain through winter, offering a seed treat to finches and other birds.  Any uneaten seed self-sow for new plants in the spring but the seeds of cultivars may not be like their parent plants. Seedlings are easily transplanted. Cut dead leaves and stems to ground level in late winter before spring growth begins.

Deer ignore coneflowers but rabbits find them tasty. They are rarely damaged by insects or diseases, but may show occasional damage from aphids, Japanese beetles, powdery mildew or bacterial leaf spots. I have experienced an occasional problem with “aster yellows” but promptly removed the affected plants to avoid a spread to neighboring plants. My two favorite cultivars are ‘Magnus’ which has large, light purple blooms and ‘Kim’s Knee High’ which is only a foot tall. Both look best when planted in masses rather than as single plants.

A bumblebee busy on a ‘Magnus’ coneflower bloom.

A group planting.

Note the weird green buds inside the purple circle. These deformed blooms are a symptom of Aster Yellows. Remove and destroy the plant to prevent the spread. Aster yellows is a bacteria-like organism called a phytoplasma. It is spread by leafhoppers.