Plant Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ plants, flowers, trees, and succulents — with care, light, water, and how to tell them apart.
Silver Maple
Silver maple is a fast-growing deciduous tree named for the silvery undersides of its deeply cut leaves, which flash in the wind; it is hardy and adaptable but has brittle wood prone to storm damage.
tree
Potentilla
A small, tough deciduous shrub that blooms nonstop from late spring to frost with cheerful yellow, white, pink, or orange flowers. Cold-hardy and undemanding, it suits borders, edging, and harsh sites.
shrub
Milkweed
Milkweed is a hardy native perennial with fragrant flower clusters and milky sap, best known as the essential host plant for monarch butterflies. Its seed pods release silk-tufted seeds in fall.
flower
Geranium
The familiar bedding "geranium" is actually a Pelargonium, a drought-tolerant flowering plant with rounded leaves and bold clusters of red, pink, or white blooms. True Geranium species (cranesbills) are separate hardy perennials.
flower
Weeping Nootka Cypress
Weeping Nootka Cypress is a graceful evergreen conifer with sweeping, drooping branchlets that hang like curtains from upturned limbs. It is a striking, hardy specimen tree for cool climates.
tree
St. John's Wort
St. John's wort is a hardy yellow-flowered perennial with masses of five-petaled summer blooms. Tough and drought-tolerant, it is also a noxious weed in many grazing regions.
herb
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
Hen And Chicks
Hen and chicks is a hardy rosette-forming succulent that spreads by producing clusters of offsets, or 'chicks,' around the central 'hen.' It is exceptionally cold-tolerant and thrives in rock gardens and containers.
succulent
Curly Dock
Curly dock is a hardy perennial weed with long, wavy-edged leaves and tall rusty-brown seed stalks. Its deep taproot makes it persistent and difficult to remove.
herb
Buffalo Berry
A tough, thorny North American shrub with silvery leaves and small red berries. Nitrogen-fixing and extremely drought- and cold-hardy, it forms dense thickets on poor soils.
shrub
Speedwell
Speedwell is a hardy perennial prized for its upright spikes of densely packed blue, purple, pink or white flowers that bloom for weeks in summer. It is a magnet for bees and butterflies and thrives in sunny, well-drained borders.
flower
Wild Geranium
A graceful woodland perennial bearing saucer-shaped pink to lavender flowers above deeply lobed leaves in late spring. It is a true hardy geranium, distinct from the tender garden 'geraniums' that are actually pelargoniums.
flower
Serviceberry
The serviceberry is a hardy deciduous shrub or small tree offering white spring blossoms, colorful summer berries, and brilliant fall color. It is a versatile four-season native plant beloved by gardeners and wildlife alike.
shrub
Tatsoi
Tatsoi is a cold-hardy Asian leafy green that forms a low, dark-green rosette of spoon-shaped leaves. A fast-growing cool-season plant, it shrugs off frost.
herb
Passionflower
Passionflower is a vigorous climbing vine famous for its intricate, fringed purple-and-white blooms. The maypop form (Passiflora incarnata) is hardy in temperate gardens and produces egg-shaped fruits.
flower
Oregon Grape
Oregon grape is a hardy evergreen shrub with spiny, holly-like leaves, bright yellow spring flowers and clusters of blue berries. It is the state flower of Oregon and a tough plant for shade.
shrub
Leek
The leek is a hardy allium grown for its long, blanched white shank of tightly wrapped leaf bases. Cold-tolerant and slow-growing, it is a classic autumn and winter garden vegetable.
herb
Fig
The common fig is a deciduous Mediterranean tree or large shrub grown for its bold lobed foliage and teardrop-shaped fruit. It is hardy, drought-tolerant, and one of the oldest cultivated plants.
tree
Deutzia
A graceful deciduous shrub smothered in clusters of small white (or pink) star-shaped flowers in late spring. Compact, hardy, and easy, it works well in borders, edging, and mass plantings.
shrub
Collard Greens
Collard greens are a hardy, non-heading form of cabbage grown for their large, broad blue-green leaves. A leafy garden vegetable, they are cold-tolerant and productive over a long season.
herb
Tamarack
Tamarack is a hardy North American deciduous conifer of cold bogs and wetlands, turning glowing gold each autumn before shedding its soft needles. It is one of the most cold-tolerant trees in North America.
tree
Ponderosa Pine
Ponderosa pine is a tall, drought-hardy evergreen conifer of western North America, known for its long needles, large cones and puzzle-piece bark that smells of vanilla or butterscotch. It is a major western timber tree.
tree
White Spruce
White Spruce is a hardy, widespread conifer of the northern forests of North America, valued for its dense conical form and tolerance of cold and poor soils. It is an important timber and Christmas tree species.
tree
Red Twig Dogwood
A hardy deciduous shrub prized for its brilliant red winter stems, white spring flowers, and white berries. Especially striking in snowy landscapes when the bare crimson twigs glow.
shrub