Sundrops are easy to grow, so it’s easy to overlook them. I was trying to come up with a plant for Wildflower Wednesday. I couldn’t come up with a single native species. When I saw Beth Stetenfeld post about prairie Sundrops I slapped myself on the forehead. It’s a given! Sundrops are native to the United States!

Sundrops had already started to grow in the Slope Garden when we first moved into the house.

The Slope Garden was not only overrun by them, but they had taken it over completely!

I love pure sunshine yellow, whether it’s daffodils or forsythia. I wanted to keep them. At least some. The Slope Garden was going to be replanted with shrubs and ornamental Grasses to make it easier to maintain, so I had to find a new spot to grow the sundrops.

You may already be aware that sundrops tend to spread. They are shallow-rooted, which is a bonus.

Even a young plant will send out runners. These shallow roots make them placeholders.

They are very tough. Are you aware of their toughness? It was one of the first plants that I got from another gardener. She leaned over and pulled three or four plants from the ground. Then she handed them to me. I was shocked. There was no need to dig with a trowel or try to keep the soil around the roots. She must have noticed the look of shock on my face. “Oh, don’t worry. “Stick them in the dirt when you get home. They’ll be fine.”

If you think that this kind of toughness is weed-like, then it’s time to get a grip. . . Some gardeners don’t allow sundrops in their gardens. Me, I like that sunny yellow and found a place where they could romp. Remember those daffodils that I planted along the street?

Daffodils along the roadside

I planted the daffodils with daffodils that I had dug up.

The same bed is shown from the corner of the mailbox. The sundrops and daffodils have reached their peak.

Sundrops are tough and stand up well at the roadside. In the winter, snow plows pile up snow in this area. In the summer, the heat reflected from the road bakes the area. The sundrops don’t seem to mind. The weeds are still there, but the area is much less weedy. In the spring and fall I remove plants that have spread beyond their designated area. If it’s a dry, hot year, I may cut all the flowering stems but leave the base rosettes. It’s been a long time since the daffs have gone dormant, sometimes even into August! The sundrop leaves have remained green and I’ve not bothered to trim them.

The daffodils will give me a yellow swath in late April/early may, and the sundrops will give me another yellow swath in late June/early August. The daylilies will take over these beds after that. Guess what color these are?

Sundrops are known by many names. . . It would be just confusing

As of yet, I have only referred to the plants by their common names. This is because I am not sure what the botanical name is. I’m sure that the genus is Oenothera. It looks very similar to Beth’s Prairie Sundrops, Oenothera Pilosella. What is the difference? According to the New England Wildflower Society: “Oenothera fruticosa has sepal appendages that are mostly shorter than one millimeter and erect. Capsules are clavate or obpyramidal, stipitated, and the plants have hairs mainly shorter than one millimeter (vs. O. Pilosella has sepals that are mostly 1-4mm long, divergent and elliptic-clavate. Capsules have a linear-elliptic outline or narrow-clavate, and the plants tend to be sessile. This plant might even be 3mm hairy.

Can you see hairs on stems?

You can also read about it here O. fruticosa The leaves of my plant don’t look as narrow as they do in some of the pictures. Pictures here . William Cullina in Wildflowers in the United States of America and Canada: Growing and propagating wildflowers “ O. tetragona It is often mistaken for (Northern Sundrops). It is from further north, up to Nova Scotia or Quebec.” O. tetragona Allan Armitage ( ) is a different person. Allan Armitage Native Plants in North American Gardens It is better to use. O. fruticosa “subsp. glauca (At one time known as Oenothera Tetragona You can also find out more about the following: O. youngii () is distinguished by its broader, grayer and smoother leaves, stems, and stems than the species.

See? In this case, I’ll stick with the common name. If you cannot find any gardeners who are willing to give you some of these plants, you could try looking for the following cultivars: ‘Erica Robin’, ‘Fyrverkeri (Fireworks), Sonnenwende (Solstice), Hoheslicht (Highlight), Lady Brookeborough’, or a ‘Yellow River’.

It’s hard to argue with Cullina’s statement that “[Sundrops] are cheerful and happy if they can be accommodated in the garden.” If you’re not interested in putting them into your “civilized”, there is a spot near the mailbox or garage where you could add a touch of botanical sunshine. They’re very easy to remove!

They support pollinators.