Your garden can be your personal piece of heaven. It just needs love, attention, and careful curation of plants. Thankfully, West Virginia has fantastic weather most of the year to help you plant your own garden. Now, it’s just down to which plants you want in your garden.
So, what flowers grow well in West Virginia?
There’s a range of flowers that grow well in West Virginia, including the Rhododendron Maximum, Tall Thimbleweeds, Butterfly weed, Trumpet Vine, and Spring Beauties. Take your pick and enjoy the beauty these flowers bring.
West Virginia, also known as the Mountain State, has a lot to offer; you just have to get an idea of which flowers to look for. If you’re feeling overwhelmed with options, read on. This guide will help you find the perfect flowers for you!
7 Gorgeous Flowers That Grow Well in West Virginia
There are a lot of flowers out there. Some will work fine in West Virginia, while others won’t. This guide is here to help you cut through all the options and shed light on seven flowers that’ll most likely work with any garden in West Virginia.
This set of diverse flowers will offer different colors, shapes, and sizes, essentially having something for everybody looking to exercise their green thumb. So check them out and find out which one fits your garden best.
1. Tall Thimbleweed
Tall Thimbleweeds are a welcome sight in West Virginia because they’re so simple, easy to care for, and elegant, making great additions to any garden.
Able to grow in average to dry soils, you can have them planted in the sun or in partly shaded areas. Their simplicity comes from the little maintenance needed to care for them since they’re virtually pest and disease-free. They’re also drought and deer-resistant.
Thimbleweed flowers have a star shape to them, with white petals and greenish thimble-like mounds with extruding stamens.
The flowers tend to bloom in late spring and continue to do so midsummer, with reports saying they can stay blooming until early fall.
Something to be careful of when handling thimbleweed is that the plant is poisonous, so please be careful not to eat it. Its sap can cause skin irritation, especially when fresh.
2. Rhododendron Maximum
You must have known that we’d add the state flower to the list; it’s a no-brainer. The Rhododendron Maximum is a large evergreen shrub with clusters of purple-pink bell-shaped flowers bursting out of it, making them perfect as a centerpiece for your garden.
They’re also known as the Great Laurel thanks to their large size. They’re unique and will definitely get a few looks from a passer-by or garden guests.
Native to the east coast, the shrub’s flowers bloom from late spring to midsummer and thrive growing up in a part shade environment.
While it’s low maintenance, please remember that the shrub and its flowers are toxic to humans and animals, so keep your pets away from it if you have any.
3. Butterfly Weed
Adding a dash of color to your garden is always a sign of a keen-eyed gardener. The Butterfly weed supplies that required color in droves, thanks to its bushy perennials that have yellowy-orange flowers that pop.
The Butterfly weed’s flowers tend to bloom throughout the entire summer, offering a nice contrast to other flowers that fall on the other side of the color spectrum.
Drought resistant, the Butterfly weed can grow well in dry soil that’s well-drained. It’s generally both pest and disease-resistant. Just make sure you plant it in the sun for it to thrive.
While it’s deer-resistant due to it being toxic to animals, the flowers’ nectar still invites other guests, including bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.
4. Spring Beauty
The Spring Beauty is a charmingly small flower that’s best admired when in groups, so try and plant several of them next to each other.
The tiny flowers have pale petals with dashes of pink on them. They bloom throughout the spring, with little to no pest or disease issues to speak of.
Their size makes them perfect for meadows and garden beds, as they can bring the bottom of trees to life. Make sure you grow them in fertile or moist well-drained soils in the sun or part shade to get the best results.
5. Trumpet Vine
These woody climbers are perfect if you want to have some vines up or down some kind of wall, fence, or post in your garden, and what makes them beautiful is their trumpet-like flowers.
Trumpet Vine flowers are captivating thanks to their unique tubular look and stunning orange or red color, which bloom all summer long.
While there are no disease or insect issues to garner attention, the vines need maintenance on a regular basis. The vines will need to be pruned before or after blooming months to keep them in check, or else they’re going to overgrow.
The flowers grow best while in the sun or partial shade, and due to their shape, they attract none other than hummingbirds who will visit to have a sip of their nectar.
6. Shooting Star
Shooting Stars are very unique when it comes to their looks. Their name comes from the look of their flowers, which appear like falling stars hanging in the air thanks to their stems. Others have described them as purple wind-blown umbrellas floating, which is also an apt description.
The flowers actually have five pinkish-purple swept-back petals with yellowish-brown stamens pointing downward, which gives the illusion of small stars shooting to the ground.
These gorgeous flowers bloom from late spring to early summer and grow best in part shade with moist, well-drained soil.
They’re also virtually disease-free, which is great, but you still need to keep an eye out for snails and slugs that might ruin them. You’ll be able to spot them in the early hours of the morning or at night.
7. Dwarf Larkspur
It’s time for something different! We mentioned purple, red, orange, pink, and white-colored flowers so far; this one is more distinct thanks to its deep blue star-shaped petals.
The Dwarf Larkspurs are the kind of flowers that will stand out, grabbing the attention of anyone who’ll take a look into your garden.
Thriving in fertile and moist, well-drained soils, these flowers grow best in sunny areas or with partial shade, under trees, or next to bushes. If cared for correctly, you can expect these blue stunners to bloom in mid to late spring, lasting into early summer.
Even though it’s toxic to dogs, cats, and humans, you will see hummingbirds and butterflies regularly feeding off this flower’s nectar. Deer and rabbits will tend to avoid it as best they can.
Another variation for the Dwarf Larkspur is the Blue Mirror. Its mesmerizing colorway will make you feel like you’re seeing three colors: pale blue, purple, and a hint of pink. They’re truly unique, and if you see them in person, you’ll want to add them to your garden immediately, and we can’t blame you.
Final Words On What Flowers Grow Well in West Virginia
In closing, you need to be aware that any plant you choose will need your love and care in order to thrive. That being said, experts recommend going out and seeing the plants in person before making your final choice, as you might feel differently about them once you see them in real life.
Another thing that you need to consider is doing some research on your garden before taking on any project. You need to figure out what type of soil you have, water capabilities, and the budget you’re willing to spend to grow these flowers there.
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