Hairy Synandra, Guyandotte Beauty, Wyandotte Beauty

I have found Synandra to be easily grown from seed in pots, and in rich, moist woods. Seeds should be sown and overwintered outdoors for ...Read Moregermination in the following spring. A small percentage of them will not germinate until the second spring. They prefer neutral soil (which fresh potting soil provides) and moderate to high fertility. They require mostly sunny conditions in spring before and during flowering. Morning sun, or the cover of deciduous trees is best. Mine flowered much longer than under natural conditions (through early summer) when given more light, moisture, and nutrients than those grown in deciduous woodland.

They have continued to reproduce on their own in my woodland for several years without care. There, I enriched the soil with 4" of compost 10 years ago and have not amended the soil since. This soil is high in Calcium and Magnesium, and has near neutral pH. They do, however, benefit from controlling competition from other plants (as most plants do), and will produce more flowers over a longer season if fertilized.

The plants die after flowering, while the new generation of plants grow into small rosettes that seem to wait out the summer, awaiting cool weather for resumption of growth in fall, continuing during winter warm spells in my zone 7 woodland. During this time they will survive under leaf cover, but more vigorous plants develop where winter sun reaches them. This is a typical growth cycle for other biennials such as Phacelias.

They flower at the same time as yellow lady's-slippers, which like the same conditions and make spectacular companions. They must be protected from deer. I expect they would be as easily grown as trilliums, bloodroot, hosta, and impatiens. Moisture and competition are probably the most limiting factors.

Synandra hispidula is a Federally threatened species that is about ready to be classified as endangered. There is a large stand of it gr...Read Moreowing in our woods and after 8 years of trying to ID this wildflower, yesterday I finally found out what it was.
It is a native biennial that reaches 8-16" tall.
One of the reasons for its becoming threatened is due to lack of canopy from logging.
The states that this wildflower can still be found in are Alabama, Illinoise, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. There are only 3 populations left in Illinoise, all in Shawnee National Forest, and it is quite rare in Kentucky. I'm not sure how recently this information has been updated.