The caliche from home does have a lot more seedlings sprouting now that look promising. For this year, the remaining big plants are a little bluestem and a Solidago rigidiscula!
I was examining the stems and base of the two scarlet peas we dug up in early fall from the doomed prairie (sold for building on) in town. I’ve been watering both since we moved them. Today I noticed a tiny green shoot emerging from one stem of one plant! I’m going to try to grow this species from seed too but it’s nice to know at least one made it.
A fingertip sized baby thistle!Bigger thistle baby!Another thistle rosette They apparently overwinter this way This rosette I’m not sure if it’s texanum or undulatum. I haven’t seen any undulatum seeds up yet in my pots. This is the same individual as to the left, showing the white closely hairy underside of the thistle leaves. These five thistle rosettes are probably mostly or all texanum, based on that only my texanum seeds have germinated into similar size rosettes. These are all at my parents’ house, where I got the seeds. Yay!
Heath asters were buzzin‘!Common Eastern bumblebees were all over both the Heath asters and these Liatris mucronata. Wooly bear!Marigolds doing well around the sweet peppers. A close up of the same marigolds. They really thrive in the fall.
Liatris punctata var mucronata from home is finally in peak flower! It’s a bit horizontal because it’s near Briar’s favorite laying spot. Oops. The heath asters aren’t as full as the local wild ones yet but they’ve started. This one hitched along with the liatris from home.
The Salvia azurea from Missouri Wildflower Nursery had a second flush of blooms after the recent rain. The plant from TX did too. My young OK seed source plant is starting to bud but it’s still in a pot so not as big. Hopefully with three individuals now we’ll see some self-seeding!
I had assumed these tall plants were Gaura longifolia but they turned out to be Oenethera rhombipetala, four-point primrose! I did put seed out last winter. There are multiple plants! They are supposed to be self incompatible so hopefully they can reseed. (A few years ago I had just one plant come up and it didn’t reseed for that reason. This is from new seeds.). I think they must bloom sometime after midnight but before 5am (my range of dog taking out times) because seed pods keep forming yet I only see spent flowers. 07/28 a flower done blooming was missing two petals. 07/28. The leaves. A mystery plant in a small pot has turned out to be Ludwigia alternifolia! I collected the seeds locally because of its intriguing square seed pods. We have since planted the 4-5 plants near a rain barrel and a swamp milkweed plant, as it likes occasional moisture. The habitat I got it from was a dry wash leading to a lake, so I think it is pretty flexible in that requirement, but a wash definitely collects together more moisture than a flat open area. I believe Mom said she’s seen it in similar places. Happily, it is a perennial.