I posted this for September's Wildflower Wednesday in 2010 and forgot all about it. I even stopped on the back road today to take pictures for September 2012. Then I got home and discovered this old post! The plant I dug 2 years ago didn't make it but seeds were available from Prairie Moon Nursery. I sowed a packet last year but only a couple of plants made it to bloom size. I blame myself for that: I didn't sow them in the kind of conditions they require. If I can find a spot that meets those criteria, though, I hope to see them blooming on my corner of Katy next fall!
Today is Wildflower Wednesday, Gail of Clay and Limestone's
meme for native plant lovers. As I was driving to the Arbor Gate on
Saturday, I saw stands of small pink flowers growing wild along the
roadside. Being pressed for time, I told myself I would stop on the way
back to investigate. But I came home a different way ... so I jotted
myself a note, which has been lost in the clutter of the little red
truck.
Agalinis heterophylla, known as Prairie False-Foxglove or Prairie Agalinis, is a member of the Scrophulariaceae family. According to the information from the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, it grows 1 to 3 feet tall and blooms from June through October. That site lists it as needing part shade: while that was true of the site where I originally spotted it growing, it's in full sun where I saw it today. It's possible that the plants receive some afternoon shade from taller vegetation nearby, though. The long wiry stems have needlelike leaves, and not very many of those. Since I was wearing sandals, I couldn't get far enough into its habitat to get a good look at the crown of the plant where it emerged from the soil. I managed to gently wrest one plant from the ground with root intact and I'm hoping I can get it to grow or reseed in my gardens.
Trundle yourself on over to Gail's blog and check out the other Wildflower Wednesday posts!
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