Member Plant Picks

Our members have experience with a variety of plants in their Middle Tennessee gardens. This page features our members discussing their personal favorite plants. But first let's profile three plants we know will do well in our area- the three Tennessee state flowers!

In 1919, the state of Tennessee designated the purple passion flower as the state flower of Tennessee. In 1973, the designation was changed to the state wildflower. Passiflora incarnata L. is also known as the Maypop, wild apricot, and ocoee by the American Indians. It is a perennial, herbaceous vine native to the southern United States that climbs or trails up to 25 feet. It blooms June through September and develop edible, sweet smelling fruit two to three months after flowering. It needs full sun to part shade and well draining soil on the drier side and can tolerate slightly acidic to slightly alkaline soil pH. It is the host plant for the gulf fritillary and variegated fritillary butterflies. May become invasive in some regions or habitats. Remove suckers regularly to control the spread. 

In 2012, the Tennessee coneflower (Echinacea tennesseensis) was designated as an official state wildflower. For a wonderful story about conservation, please go to the following link. 
http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/tennessee/explore/tennessee-coneflower.xml

The iris was designated as the Tennessee state flower in 1933 and then renamed it the state cultivated flower in 1973. It is widely accepted that the purple variety is the state flower. For information on growing irises, see the following  link.
 http://www.irises.org/About_Irises/Cultural%20Information/Grow_Bearded.html