Plant Finder

User Guidelines

The Plant Finder is a multi-faceted tool to assist designers, contractors, maintenance personnel, community groups and the general public in selecting plants that perform well within the public right-of-way. It expands on the lists included in previous versions of the Manual and should be used in conjunction with the guidance provided in the Landscape Chapter.

The Plant Finder database is not comprehensive and there is no guarantee that these plants will survive at a specific site. All plants within the public right-of-way must be selected based on site-specific conditions and approved by the appropriate agency or agencies with jurisdiction. Download the Plant Finder User Guide for instructions on how to use the tool.

The information in this database was generated by DOT, Parks, other agency staff, and local horticulture professionals based on their first-hand knowledge as well as from existing resources. Download the Plant Finder References page for a full list of sources.

Plant Basics

Characteristics

Tolerances

A general image of Chamaecyparis obtusa, with its green foliage and pyramidal shape.

Common:

Hinoki Cypress

Scientific:

Chamaecyparis obtusa

Plant type:

Trees

Height:

50-75 ft

Spread:

15-25 ft

Shape:

Pyramidal

Fruit:

Small orange or brown cones with only 8 scales. Females are brown while males are orange. Found on short stalks

Foliage:

Dark green scale-like leaves in two sizes have white markings beneath. Crushed foliage is aromatic

Fall:

No autumn color. Tends to brown in winter

Bark:

Shredding red-brown bark

Special Qualities:

Distinctive Foliage, Distinctive Bark

Level of Maintenance:

Low

Season of Interest:

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter

Light:

Full Sun to Part Shade

Salt:

Unknown

pH:

Acid to Alkaline (5.0-8.0)

Soil:

Sand, Loam, Clay

Moisture:

Med

Hardiness:

5a - 8a

Avoid soggy soils.

A low image of Chamaecyparis pisifera filifera ('Golden Mop' cultivar), with its needle-like foliage, which is sitting in an elevated planter.

Common:

Japanese Falsecypress

Scientific:

Chamaecyparis pisifera filifera

'Golden Mop'

Plant type:

Shrub

Height:

3-5 ft

Spread:

3-5 ft

Shape:

Mounded

Fruit:

Small pea-like brown cones with only 6-8 scales. Found on short stalks, clustered at branch tips. Cone scales are soft and wrinkled

Foliage:

Stringy, whip-like, golden yellow foliage

Fall:

Golden yellow is maintained throughout the year

Bark:

Shredding red-brown bark

Special Qualities:

Distinctive Foliage, Distinctive Bark

Level of Maintenance:

Low

Season of Interest:

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter

Light:

Full Sun to Part Shade

Salt:

Low

pH:

Acid to Neutral (5.0-7.4)

Soil:

Sand, Loam, Clay

Moisture:

Med

Hardiness:

5a - 7a

‘Golden Mop’  is known for its mounded, mop head-like form and its golden yellow foliage. Fast growing. Drought tolerant.

A wide image of Chamaecyparis thyoides and the sidewalk, highlighting its dense and coniferous foliage.

Common:

White Cypress

Scientific:

Chamaecyparis thyoides

Plant type:

Trees

Height:

30-50 ft

Spread:

30-40 ft

Shape:

Columnar

Fruit:

Brown cones which are clustered on small branchlets. Each cone is 0.25" across.

Foliage:

Scale-like adult leaves and needle-like juvenile leaves are a soft blue-green.

Fall:

Brown needles persist on branches for several years.

Bark:

Light gray to reddish-brown bark. The bark is irregularly furrowed. Trees have very thin, spreading branches.

Special Qualities:

Distinctive Foliage, Distinctive Bark

Season of Interest:

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter

Light:

Full Sun to Part Shade

Salt:

None

pH:

Acid to Neutral (5.0-7.4)

Soil:

Sand

Moisture:

Med to Wet

Hardiness:

5a - 8a

Other:

Native
An image of the ornamental Chasmanthium latifolium, which has drooping seed heads, and is accompanied with a perched monarch butterfly.

Collections:

Common:

Northern Sea Oats

Scientific:

Chasmanthium latifolium

Plant type:

Grass/Grass-like

Height:

2-5 ft

Spread:

1-2.5 ft

Shape:

Upright

Bloom:

Flat, drooping seed heads which change in terminal clusters on thread-like pedicels from slightly arching stems

Blooming period:

Aug - Sep

Foliage:

Bright green leaves (5"-9" long). Excellent for dried flower arrangements

Fall:

Leaves turn a coppery color after frost and eventually brown by winter

Special Qualities:

Showy Blooms, Distinctive Foliage

Level of Maintenance:

Low

Season of Interest:

Spring, Summer, Fall

Light:

Full Sun to Part Shade

Salt:

None

pH:

Requires Acid (5.0-7.0)

Soil:

Sand, Loam, Clay

Moisture:

Med to Wet

Hardiness:

3a - 8a

DEP Residential Plan Sun and Dry-Option 2.

White turtlehead

Common:

White Turtlehead

Scientific:

Chelone glabra

Plant type:

Perennial

Height:

2-3 ft

Spread:

1.5-2.5 ft

Shape:

Upright

Bloom:

Hooded, snapdragon-like, two-lipped, white flowers with a tinge of pink appear in tight, spike-like terminal racemes from late summer to autumn. Flowers purportedly resemble turtle heads

Blooming period:

Aug - Oct

Foliage:

Coarsely-toothed, lance-shaped, dark green leaves

Fall:

Blooms through the fall. See bloom description

Special Qualities:

Showy Blooms, Distinctive Foliage

Level of Maintenance:

Low

Season of Interest:

Spring, Summer, Fall

Light:

Part Sun Only

Salt:

Low

pH:

Acid to Neutral (5.0-7.4)

Soil:

Loam

Moisture:

Med to Wet

Hardiness:

3a - 8a

Other:

Native
Chinese fringe tree

Collections:

Common:

Chinese Fringe Tree

Scientific:

Chionanthus retusus

Plant type:

Trees

Height:

10-20 ft

Spread:

10-20 ft

Shape:

Rounded Spreading

Bloom:

Plants are primarily dioecious, but some plants may have some perfect flowers. Male flowers are slightly showier

Blooming period:

May - Jun

Fruit:

Female flowers (if fertilized) give way to clusters of olive-like fruits (each to 0.5" long) which ripen to a dark bluish-black in late summer/fall and are a good food source for birds and wildlife

Foliage:

Leaves are bright green above and whitish-green plus downy beneath

Fall:

Leaves turn yellow in fall (reportedly more attractive in northern areas)

Special Qualities:

Showy Blooms, Showy Fruit, Distinctive Foliage

Level of Maintenance:

Low

Season of Interest:

Spring, Summer, Fall

Light:

Full Sun to Part Shade

Salt:

Unknown

pH:

Acid to Alkaline (5.0-8.0)

Soil:

Sand, Loam, Clay

Moisture:

Med

Hardiness:

5a - 9a

Possible emerald ash borer (EAB) host.

An image of the Chionanthus virginicus tree, covered in green leaves and fringe-like white flowers.

Common:

Fringe Tree

Scientific:

Chionanthus virginicus

Plant type:

Trees

Height:

12-20 ft

Spread:

12-20 ft

Shape:

Spreading

Bloom:

Slightly fragrant, spring-blooming flowers which feature airy, terminal, dropping clusters (4"-6" long) of fringe-like, creamy white petals

Blooming period:

May - Jun

Fruit:

Female flowers (if fertilized) give way to clusters of olive-like fruits (each to 0.5" long) which ripen to a dark bluish-black in late summer/fall and are a good food source for birds and wildlife

Foliage:

Simple, elliptic or elongated leaves with acute bases and tips. Each are 3"-8" long and 1.5"-3" wide. This tree is one of the last deciduous plants to leaf out in the spring

Fall:

Leaves turn yellow in fall

Special Qualities:

Showy Blooms, Showy Fruit, Distinctive Foliage

Level of Maintenance:

Low

Season of Interest:

Spring, Summer, Fall

Light:

Full Sun to Part Shade

Salt:

None

pH:

Requires Acid (5.0-7.0)

Soil:

Sand, Loam, Clay

Moisture:

Med

Hardiness:

3a - 9a

Possible emerald ash borer (EAB) host.

Decorative garden mum

Common:

Decorative Garden Mum

Scientific:

Chrysanthemum

'Hillside Sheffield Pink'

Plant type:

Perennial

Height:

2-3 ft

Spread:

2-3 ft

Shape:

Clumping

Bloom:

Single daisy-like apricot pink flowers with golden yellow centers cover the plant from late summer to frost

Blooming period:

Sep - Jun

Foliage:

Lobed, medium green leaves (to 2" long)

Fall:

Blooms through the fall. See bloom description

Special Qualities:

Showy Blooms

Level of Maintenance:

Low

Season of Interest:

Fall, Winter

Light:

Full Sun Only

Salt:

Medium

pH:

Not available

Soil:

Loam

Moisture:

Med

Hardiness:

5a - 9a

'Hillside Sheffield Pink' is known for its beautiful, apricot-colored fragrant flowers with a long bloom period.

Leaf icon

Collections:

Common:

Sweetshade Yellowwood

Scientific:

Cladrastis kentukea

'Sweetshade'

Plant type:

Trees

Height:

35-45 ft

Spread:

40-50 ft

Shape:

Rounded Upright

Bloom:

Intensely fragrant, wisteria-like, pink flowers in large, drooping, terminal panicles (10-15” long) will cover a mature tree in late spring

Blooming period:

May - Jun

Fruit:

Flowers give way to flat seed pods (2.5-4” long) that mature in September-October

Foliage:

Pinnately compound leaves (usually with 7-11 leaflets) open as yellowish green and turn bright green in summer

Fall:

Leaves turn yellow in the fall

Special Qualities:

Showy Blooms, Showy Fruit

Level of Maintenance:

Low

Season of Interest:

Spring, Summer, Fall

Light:

Full Sun Only

Salt:

None

pH:

Acid to Alkaline (5.0-8.0)

Soil:

Sand, Loam, Clay

Moisture:

Med

Hardiness:

4a - 8b

'Sweetshade' is a medium growing, deciduous tree with a broad, rounded crown. Noted for its intensely fragrant large white flowers. However, profuse bloom may occur only once every 2 or 3 years. New trees may not bloom for the first 8-10 years.

An image of Cladrastis kentukea, displaying its green leaves that are beginning to turn yellow, among parked cars.

Collections:

Common:

Yellowwood

Scientific:

Cladrastis kentukea

Plant type:

Trees

Height:

30-50 ft

Spread:

40-55 ft

Shape:

Rounded

Bloom:

Intensely fragrant, wisteria-like, pink flowers in large, drooping, terminal panicles (10"-15" long) cover a mature tree in late spring

Blooming period:

May

Fruit:

Flat seed pods (2.5"-4" long) that mature in September-October

Foliage:

Pinnately compound leaves (usually with 7-11 leaflets) open as yellowish-green, turn bright green in summer

Fall:

Soft mix of yellow, gold and orange. Showy on most trees

Bark:

Smooth, light gray bark which is quite attractive. The name yellowwood comes from the yellow heartwood

Special Qualities:

Showy Blooms, Distinctive Foliage, Distinctive Bark

Level of Maintenance:

Low

Season of Interest:

Spring, Summer, Fall

Light:

Full Sun Only

Salt:

None

pH:

Acid to Alkaline (5.0-8.0)

Soil:

Sand, Loam, Clay

Moisture:

Med

Hardiness:

4b - 8a
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