The 2013 North Carolina Wildflower of the Year is not a wildflower at all. It is a small deciduous shrub, but we’ll bend the rules a little for such a great plant.
New Jersey-tea (Ceanothus americanus) can grow to three feet but is often smaller in dry rocky sites. This shrub has multi-season interest—white flowers in spring, warm bronzy leaves in fall and yellow-green twigs in winter. Just give it plenty of sun and good drainage.
The N.C. Wildflower of the Year program is a joint effort between the NC Botanical Garden and the Garden Club of North Carolina to promote the use of native plants in the home garden.
For a free copy of the 2013 North Carolina Wildflower of the Year brochure, containing a packet of New Jersey-tea seeds, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to: 2013 WFOY, N.C. Botanical Garden, Campus Box 3375, UNC – Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3375.
Photo by NC Botanical Garden