Plant Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ plants, flowers, trees, and succulents — with care, light, water, and how to tell them apart.
Ironweed
A tall, robust native perennial crowned in late summer with clusters of intensely purple flowers. Its tough, wiry stems and iron-hard durability give it its name.
flower
Elderberry
Elderberry is a fast-growing deciduous shrub bearing large creamy flower clusters in early summer and drooping bunches of small dark purple-black berries in late summer.
shrub
Rabbit's Foot Fern
The Rabbit's Foot Fern is named for the fuzzy, silvery rhizomes that creep over the pot's edge like little furry feet. Its lacy, delicate fronds and unusual surface roots make it a striking, conversation-starting houseplant.
fern
Four O'Clock
A bushy tuberous perennial famous for fragrant trumpet flowers that open in late afternoon and stay open through the night, then close by morning. A single plant can bear differently colored blooms, sometimes flecked on the same flower.
flower
Obedient Plant
Obedient plant is a native perennial with tall spikes of pink to white snapdragon-like flowers in late summer. It earns its name because pushed flowers stay in their new position.
flower
Great Blue Lobelia
A native North American perennial producing tall spikes of vivid blue, two-lipped flowers in late summer. It is the blue counterpart to the red cardinal flower and loves moist ground.
flowerSilver Bay Aglaonema
'Silver Bay' is a popular Chinese evergreen cultivar with large, lance-shaped leaves splashed with silvery-grey down the center and edged in deep green. It is one of the most forgiving foliage houseplants, tolerating low light and irregular watering.
houseplant
Summersweet
A late-summer-blooming deciduous shrub with upright spikes of intensely fragrant white or pink flowers that draw bees and butterflies. Native to eastern North America, it thrives in moist, shady spots.
shrub
Ragweed
A common annual weed that produces large amounts of lightweight, wind-blown pollen in late summer and fall. It has fern-like, deeply divided leaves and inconspicuous greenish flower spikes.
herb
Geum
Geum, or avens, is a clump-forming perennial with airy stems of cheerful red, orange, or yellow flowers above hairy basal foliage. It blooms from late spring into summer in cottage borders.
flower
Hydrangea Tree
The hydrangea tree is a panicle hydrangea trained to a single trunk, topped with large cone-shaped clusters of white flowers that age to pink in late summer. It is the hardiest and most sun-tolerant of the hydrangeas.
shrub
Spiderwort
Spiderwort is a clumping native perennial with grassy arching foliage and three-petaled blue, purple, or pink flowers that each last a single day. It blooms reliably from late spring through summer.
flower
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
Moon Cactus
The moon cactus is a brightly colored grafted novelty cactus, with a red, yellow, orange, or pink top fused onto a green rootstock. The colorful top lacks chlorophyll and depends on the host cactus to survive.
succulent
Hellebore
An evergreen shade perennial that blooms in late winter and early spring, when little else does, with nodding, cup-shaped flowers in white, pink, plum, and green. Long-lived and deer-resistant.
flower
Canary Creeper
Canary creeper is a delicate climbing relative of the nasturtium, named for its fringed, bright yellow flowers that resemble tiny birds in flight. It quickly clothes trellises and fences with lacy blue-green foliage.
flower
Corn Speedwell
Corn speedwell is a tiny low-growing winter annual weed with small, deep-blue flowers and rounded toothed leaves. It commonly carpets lawns, gardens, and bare ground in late winter and spring.
herb
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
Rose of Sharon
A hardy deciduous hibiscus that blooms profusely in late summer with showy, often two-toned flowers. Upright and easy to grow, it brings tropical-looking color to temperate gardens when little else is flowering.
shrub
Pink Trumpet Tree
The pink trumpet tree bursts into masses of pink to magenta trumpet-shaped flowers in late winter and spring, often while leafless, creating a spectacular cloud of color. It is a popular tropical and subtropical flowering tree.
tree
Nimblewill
Nimblewill is a wiry, warm-season perennial grass native to North America that often invades lawns as a patchy weed. It greens up late and turns straw-brown early, creating unsightly dormant patches.
grass
Anemone
Anemones, also called windflowers, are graceful perennials and bulbs that produce delicate, cup- or daisy-shaped flowers in spring or fall. Japanese anemones in particular bring valuable late-season color to shady borders.
flower
Cypress Vine
A delicate, fast-growing morning-glory relative with lacy, fern-like foliage and small star-shaped red, pink or white flowers that hummingbirds love. It quickly climbs trellises and fences with feathery, airy growth.
flower
Seven-Son Flower
Seven-son flower is a multi-season large shrub or small tree bearing fragrant white late-summer flowers followed by showy rosy-red sepals in fall. Its peeling tan bark adds winter interest.
shrub