Sun Exposure: Sun, Part Sun
Soil Moisture: Medium-Wet, Medium, Medium-Dry, Dry
Soil Type: Sand, Loam, Clay
Height: 1 foot
Spread: 2-3 feet
Blooms: June, July, August
Root: Fibrous
Habitat: Mesic to dry black soil prairies, Gravelly hill prairies, Dry open woodlands, Limestone glades, Bluffs, Sand flats, and areas along roadsides and railroads. This plant is found in areas with poor soil and sparse vegetative cover, or it is found in disturbed areas of prairies with richer soil.
Landscape uses: Garden borders. Pollinator gardens, Rock gardens
Complimentary Plants: Prairie Sundrops, Butterflyweed, Lanceleaf Coreopsis, Little Bluestem
Wildlife Value: The nectar and pollen of the nodding flowers attract primarily bees, including Anthophorid bees and leaf-cutting bees (Megachile spp.). The latter sometimes cut pieces from the corolla of this wildflower, which are used in the construction of brood nests. Host plant: Common Buckeye butterfly.
Seed Origin: Winona, MN (Prairie Moon seed supplier)
Germination Code: C(60)
Photo credits: #1 by peganum, #2 by Krzysztof Ziarnek, #3 by Leonora (Ellie) Enking
Ruellia humilis - Wild Petunia
This robust plant resembles the cultivated petunias, but they are members of a different plant family - Acanthaceae spp. They bloom for 2 months during the hottest part of the summer.
The seeds fall to the ground not far from the mother plant and this plant can spread out quite far if given room. It will not do well as an understory plant in a garden with tall perennials, so plant at the sunny edges of pollinator gardens or with other robust short plants such as Purple Poppy Mallow.