Plant Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ plants, flowers, trees, and succulents — with care, light, water, and how to tell them apart.
Powder Puff Cactus
A clustering pincushion cactus wrapped in silky white hairs, with hooked central spines hidden beneath. Rings of small creamy or pink flowers appear readily, even on young plants.
succulent
Catalpa Tree
The catalpa is a fast-growing deciduous shade tree famous for its huge heart-shaped leaves, showy clusters of frilly white flowers, and long slender seed pods resembling beans or cigars. It is a popular ornamental for large lawns and street plantings.
tree
Spirea
A versatile, easy-care deciduous shrub grown for clusters of pink or white flowers and often colorful foliage. Compact and reliable, spirea suits borders, mass plantings and low informal hedges.
shrub
Mexican Sunflower
A tall, fast-growing annual prized for its vivid orange-red daisy flowers that are magnets for butterflies and bees. It thrives in heat and poor soil where many other plants struggle.
flower
Ginkgo Biloba
Ginkgo biloba is a unique 'living fossil' tree with distinctive fan-shaped leaves that turn brilliant gold in autumn. Extremely tough and long-lived, it is widely planted as a resilient street tree.
tree
Green Onion
Green onions are slender, mild alliums grown for their hollow green tops and small white bases. Fast and forgiving, they are among the easiest plants to grow and even regrow from rooted bases.
herb
Bellflower
Bellflowers are a large group of perennials and biennials bearing bell- or star-shaped flowers, usually in blue, purple or white. They range from low rock-garden creepers to tall border plants.
flower
Petunia
Petunias are prolific, trumpet-shaped bedding flowers prized for nonstop summer color in containers, hanging baskets, and borders. Most garden plants are hybrids derived from South American Petunia species.
flower
Tomato
The tomato is one of the world's most popular garden plants, a warm-season fruiting member of the nightshade family grown on sprawling or vining stems. It comes in countless cultivars from tiny cherries to giant beefsteaks.
herb
Dianthus
Dianthus, commonly called pinks or carnations, are flowering plants known for their fringed, clove-scented blooms in shades of pink, red, white and bicolor. They are classic cottage-garden favorites that bloom prolifically in cool weather.
flower
Verbena
Verbenas are sun-loving plants that produce dense clusters of small, vivid flowers over long seasons, attracting butterflies and bees. They range from low spreading bedding types to tall airy border perennials.
flower
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus is a fast-growing, aromatic Australian tree prized for its fragrant, oil-rich foliage and distinctive peeling bark. The blue gum is one of the most widely planted species worldwide for timber and ornamental use.
tree
Hosta
The premier foliage perennial for shade, grown for bold mounds of ribbed leaves in greens, blues, golds, and variegated patterns. Lavender or white flower spikes are a summer bonus.
houseplant
Columbine
Columbine is a graceful perennial prized for its intricate, spurred flowers that nod above lacy blue-green foliage in late spring. It self-seeds readily and is a favorite of hummingbirds and bees.
flower
Golden Chain Tree
A small deciduous tree that drips with long, hanging chains of brilliant yellow pea-like flowers in late spring.
tree
Cardinal Flower
Cardinal flower is a moisture-loving native perennial bearing tall spikes of brilliant scarlet-red flowers in late summer. Its intense color is a magnet for hummingbirds.
flower
Bluebeard
Bluebeard is a compact late-summer shrub smothered in clusters of blue flowers that pollinators adore. It is heat- and drought-tolerant and blooms when most shrubs have finished.
shrub
Willow Oak
A fast-growing red-oak with narrow, willow-like leaves that lack the typical oak lobes, prized as a tough shade and street tree across the southeastern United States.
tree
Mock Orange
A deciduous shrub grown for its profuse, intensely fragrant white late-spring flowers that smell like orange blossom. Easy and hardy, it is a nostalgic favorite of cottage gardens.
shrub
New England Aster
A robust native perennial that crowns the fall garden with masses of purple, daisy-like flowers around golden centers. It is a magnet for late-season bees and migrating monarch butterflies.
flower
Thanksgiving Cactus
The Thanksgiving cactus is a forest cactus that blooms in late autumn with colorful, tubular flowers. It is distinguished from the Christmas cactus by the sharp, claw-like teeth on its flattened stem segments.
succulent
Rabbits Foot Fern
The rabbit's foot fern is a charming epiphytic fern named for the furry, creeping rhizomes that drape over its pot like soft animal paws, topped with delicate lacy fronds.
fern
Goldenrod
A tough, late-season perennial wildflower that lights up fields and roadsides with plumes of tiny golden flowers. Its heavy, sticky pollen is spread by insects rather than wind.
flower
Fox Tail Agave
A soft, spineless agave with pale blue-green rosettes and a curving, foxtail-like flower spike. Unusual among agaves for its lack of sharp spines and tolerance of light shade.
succulent