Lakeshore Garden Centres Plant Finder

Other Names:  Compassplant

Description:

A native perennial commonly found on prairies, glades, or roadsides; yellow flowers resembling small sunflowers appear in summer, over pinnate, lobed dark green leaves; tolerates drought once established; great for informal native plant gardens

Ornamental Features

Compass Plant has masses of beautiful clusters of yellow daisy flowers with gold eyes at the ends of the stems from early to late summer, which are most effective when planted in groupings. Its large lobed pinnately compound leaves remain dark green in colour throughout the season.

Landscape Attributes

Compass Plant is an herbaceous perennial with a rigidly upright and towering form. Its medium texture blends into the garden, but can always be balanced by a couple of finer or coarser plants for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and is best cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season. It is a good choice for attracting birds, bees and butterflies to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. Gardeners should be aware of the following characteristic(s) that may warrant special consideration;

• Self-Seeding

Compass Plant is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Rock/Alpine Gardens
• General Garden Use
• Naturalizing And Woodland Gardens

Planting & Growing

Compass Plant will grow to be about 7 feet tall at maturity extending to 9 feet tall with the flowers, with a spread of 3 feet. Its foliage tends to remain dense right to the ground, not requiring facer plants in front. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 6 years. As an herbaceous perennial, this plant will usually die back to the crown each winter, and will regrow from the base each spring. Be careful not to disturb the crown in late winter when it may not be readily seen!

This plant should only be grown in full sunlight. It is very adaptable to both dry and moist locations, and should do just fine under typical garden conditions. It is considered to be drought-tolerant, and thus makes an ideal choice for a low-water garden or xeriscape application. This plant should not require much in the way of fertilizing once established, although it may appreciate a shot of general-purpose fertilizer from time to time early in the growing season. It is not particular as to soil type or pH, and is able to handle environmental salt. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This species is native to parts of North America..