Houstonia caerulea
Quaker ladies
Latin Name
Common Name
Illicium floridanum
Florida anise tree
Leaves are fragrant when crushed
Iris cristata
dwarf crested iris
Avoid leaf litter; spreads by shallow-rooted rhizomes
Jeffersonia diphylla
twinleaf
Flower only last a day or two; unique seed capsule
Leucothoe fontanesiana
drooping leucothoe
Evergreen shrub with glossy dark green leaves
Liriodendron tulipifera
tulip tree
Straight unbranched trunk
Maianthemum racemosum
false Solomon’s-seal
Gracefully arching zigzag stems
Mertensia virginica
Virginia bluebells
Can form colonies; foliage gone by summer
Mitella diphylla
two-leaf bishop’s-cap
Forms colonies; small cup-shaped flowers on stems
Oxalis violacea
violet wood-sorrel
Good for rock gardens and naturalizing
Pachysandra procumbens
Allegheny pachysandra
Can form colonies; grown primarily for groundcover
Packera aurea
golden ragwort
Can form colonies; different basal and flower stem leaves
Phacelia bipinnatifida
purple phacelia
Biennial; can establish in garden by self-sowing
Phlox divaricata
woodland phlox
Semi-evergreen plant that spreads by rhizomes
Phlox subulata
moss phlox
Vigorous mat-forming ground cover
Podophyllum peltatum
may-apple
Spreads quickly by rhizomes
Polemonium reptans
Jacob’s-ladder
Spreading but not aggressive
Polygonatum biflorum
small Solomon’s-seal
Slowly spreading to form colonies
Rhododendron periclymenoides
pinxterbloom azalea
Showy, fragrant flowers
Rhododendron vaseyi
pink-shell azalea
Blooms April-May; fragrant
Sanguinaria canadensis
bloodroot
Clump-forming; leaves grow larger after flowering
Sedum ternatum
three-leaf stonecrop
Perennial evergreen groundcover
Stylophorum diphyllum
celandine poppy
Will self-sow and spread; interesting seedpods
Thalictrum thalictroides
rue-anemone
Five to ten petal-like sepals
Tiarella cordifolia
foamflower
Good for massing and naturalizing
Trillium grandiflorum
large-flowered trillium
Showy woodland perennial; wavy edges on flowers
Trillium luteum
yellow trillium
Easily grown trillium with lemon scent
Uvularia grandiflora
large-flowered bellwort
Clump-forming herbaceous perennial
Viburnum dentatum
arrowwood
Great for screening and wildlife habitat
Viola walteri ‘Silver Gem’
Silver Gem prostrate blue violet
Introduced by Mt. Cuba Center in 2010
Wisteria frutescens
American wisteria
High climbing deciduous vine; fragrant flowers
Found in low-growing grassy and mossy places
Key Characteristics
Comments
Download this plant list at mtcubacenter.org/plantsofspring 3120 Barley Mill Road / Hockessin, DE 19707 / 302.239.4244