Plant Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ plants, flowers, trees, and succulents — with care, light, water, and how to tell them apart.
Snapdragon
Snapdragons are cool-season flowers with tall spikes of colorful, two-lipped blooms that "snap" open when squeezed. They are popular bedding plants and excellent cut flowers.
flower
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
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
Wild Ginger
A low, spreading woodland groundcover with heart-shaped leaves and curious maroon flowers hidden at soil level. Its ginger-scented roots inspired the common name, though it is unrelated to true ginger.
flower
Saffron
An autumn-blooming crocus grown for the three crimson stigmas in each flower, which yield the spice saffron. Each flower is hand-picked, making cultivation labor-intensive.
flower
Mullein
Mullein is a striking biennial that forms a rosette of soft, woolly leaves the first year and a towering yellow flower spike the second. It is a classic wildflower herb of dry, open ground.
herb
Snowball Cactus
A clustering pincushion cactus wrapped in soft white, hair-like spines that give it a fluffy, snowball appearance. Easy to grow and quick to form charming colonies.
succulent
Ladyfinger Cactus
A clustering cactus of slender, finger-like stems covered in neat, star-like spine clusters. One of the easiest and most rewarding small cacti for beginners.
succulent
Gladiolus
Gladiolus is a tall summer bulb that sends up dramatic spikes of funnel-shaped flowers in nearly every color, a staple of cutting gardens and floral arrangements.
flower
Feather Cactus
A clustering cactus completely cloaked in soft, feathery white spines that look and feel like down. The fluffy coating hides the body and gives it a snowball appearance.
succulent
Cumin
Cumin is a small annual herb in the carrot family grown for its seeds, a widely used culinary spice. It needs a long, hot, sunny season to ripen.
herb
Chaste Tree
The chaste tree is a Mediterranean deciduous shrub or small tree with aromatic, palmate foliage and slender spikes of lavender-blue summer flowers that attract bees and butterflies.
shrub
Jelly Bean Plant
The jelly bean plant is a small, easygoing sedum with plump, bean-shaped leaves that turn from green to bright red at the tips when grown in full sun. It is fast-spreading and very simple to propagate.
succulent
Golden Barrel Cactus
The golden barrel cactus is a globe-shaped desert cactus ringed with golden-yellow spines. Slow-growing and architectural, it is a popular feature in xeriscapes and pots despite being endangered in the wild.
succulent
Beardtongue
A North American native perennial with upright spikes of tubular, two-lipped flowers in white, pink, purple, or red. Loved by hummingbirds and bees, and tough in lean, well-drained soil.
flower
Salvia
Salvia is the huge genus of sages, spanning the culinary herb of the kitchen, aromatic shrubs, and a vast range of ornamental perennials with vivid flower spikes that hummingbirds and bees adore.
herb
Monkey Puzzle Tree
The monkey puzzle is a striking evergreen conifer from the Andes with stiff, spiral-arranged spiky leaves and a distinctive symmetrical, dome-topped silhouette. It is a living fossil, virtually unchanged for millions of years, and can live over a thousand years.
tree
Hardy Geranium
Hardy geranium, or cranesbill, is a tough, long-lived perennial that forms spreading mounds of deeply lobed leaves covered in saucer-shaped flowers. Unlike the tender bedding "geraniums" (Pelargonium), these true geraniums are cold-hardy and low-maintenance.
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
Blue Chalksticks
Blue chalksticks is a spreading ground-cover succulent with slender, upright, powdery blue-green finger-like leaves. Its cool blue color and low, mounding habit make it a popular landscape and container plant.
succulent
Rainbow Cactus
A small barrel cactus whose closely set spines form colored bands of pink, white, and red that wrap the stem like a rainbow. Crowned in spring with large, vivid magenta flowers.
succulent
Madagascar Palm
The Madagascar palm is a spiny, succulent caudex plant with a thick, spine-covered trunk topped by a crown of strappy leaves. Despite its name and look, it is not a true palm but a relative of the desert rose.
succulent
Larkspur
A cool-season annual related to delphinium, bearing tall spikes of spurred blue, purple, pink or white flowers above feathery foliage. It is a cottage-garden classic and an excellent cut flower.
flower
Butterfly Bush
A fast-growing deciduous shrub bearing long, fragrant flower spikes that are magnets for butterflies and bees. Vigorous and easy, it is also invasive in some regions, so non-seeding cultivars are recommended.
shrub