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

Purple Coneflower

Common:

Purple Coneflower

Scientific:

Echinacea purpurea

'Magnus'

Plant type:

Perennial

Height:

2.5-3 ft

Spread:

1-1.5 ft

Shape:

Clumping

Bloom:

Broad non-drooping petals of rosy purple surrounding a dark cone

Blooming period:

Jun - Aug

Fruit:

Ornamentally insignificant

Foliage:

Coarse, ovate to broad-lanceolate, dark green leaves

Special Qualities:

Showy Blooms

Level of Maintenance:

Low

Season of Interest:

Summer, Fall

Light:

Full Sun to Part Shade

Salt:

Low

pH:

Acid to Neutral (5.0-7.4)

Soil:

Loam, Clay

Moisture:

Dry to Med

Hardiness:

3a - 8a

'Magnus' has broader, non-drooping petals of rosy purple surrounding a dark cone.

Purple Coneflower

Collections:

Common:

Purple Coneflower

Scientific:

Echinacea purpurea

'Kim's Knee High'

Plant type:

Perennial

Height:

1-2 ft

Spread:

1-2 ft

Shape:

Clumping

Bloom:

Daisy-like coneflowr that features drooping, clear rose-pink to purple-pink rays and large, pin cushion-like, copper-orange to dark bronze central cones

Blooming period:

Jun - Aug

Fruit:

Ornamentally insignificant

Foliage:

Coarse, ovate to broad-lanceolate, dark green leaves

Special Qualities:

Showy Blooms

Level of Maintenance:

Low

Season of Interest:

Summer, Fall

Light:

Full Sun to Part Shade

Salt:

Low

pH:

Acid to Neutral (5.0-7.4)

Soil:

Clay

Moisture:

Dry to Med

Hardiness:

3a - 8a

‘Kim’s Knee High’ is a compact version of the species. It is noted for its short habit and long summer bloom. The daisy-like coneflower features drooping, clear rose-pink to purple-pink rays and large, pin cushion-like, coppery-orange to dark bronze central cones. 

Tolerates deer and drought.

DEP Residential Plan 2

Purple Coneflower

Common:

Purple Coneflower

Scientific:

Echinacea purpurea

'Red Knee High'

Plant type:

Perennial

Height:

1-1.5 ft

Spread:

1-1.5 ft

Shape:

Clumping

Bloom:

Intensely colored coneflowers featuring showy magenta red rays dropping from prominent copper-orange to bronze center cones

Blooming period:

Jun - Aug

Fruit:

Ornamentally insignificant

Foliage:

Coarse, ovate to broad-lanceolate, dark green leaves

Special Qualities:

Showy Blooms

Level of Maintenance:

Low

Season of Interest:

Summer, Fall

Light:

Full Sun to Part Shade

Salt:

Low

pH:

Acid to Neutral (5.0-7.4)

Soil:

Loam, Clay

Moisture:

Dry to Med

Hardiness:

3a - 8a

‘Red Knee High’ blooms abundantly atop compact, knee-high stems. It is noted for its long summer to fall bloom of intensely colored coneflowers featuring showy magenta red rays drooping from prominent copper-orange to bronze center cones. 

Tolerates deer and drought.

A close up image of the Echinacea purpurea flower, showcasing its bright-pink petals and orange center.

Collections:

Common:

Purple Coneflower

Scientific:

Echinacea purpurea

Plant type:

Perennial

Height:

2-5 ft

Spread:

1.5-2 ft

Shape:

Clumping

Bloom:

Showy daisy-like purple coneflowers (to 5" diameter) bloom throughout the summer atop stiff stems

Blooming period:

Jun - Aug

Fruit:

Ornamentally insignificant

Foliage:

Coarse, ovate to broad-lanceolate, dark green leaves

Special Qualities:

Showy Blooms

Level of Maintenance:

Low

Season of Interest:

Summer, Fall

Light:

Full Sun to Part Shade

Salt:

Low

pH:

Acid to Neutral (5.0-7.4)

Soil:

Urban (rubble/fill), Clay

Moisture:

Dry to Med

Hardiness:

3a - 8a

Hardy. Tolerates deer and drought.

DEP Sun/Shade Plan 1

Wavyleaf Purple Coneflower

Collections:

Common:

Wavyleaf Purple Coneflower

Scientific:

Echinacea simulata

Plant type:

Perennial

Height:

2-3 ft

Spread:

1-2 ft

Shape:

Clumping

Bloom:

Large, daisy-like flowers with drooping, pale pinkish-purple petals (ray flowers) and spiny, flattened-knob-like, copper-orange center cones

Blooming period:

Jun - Jul

Foliage:

Very narrow, parallel-veined, toothless, dark green leaves (4"-10" long)

Special Qualities:

Showy Blooms

Level of Maintenance:

Low

Season of Interest:

Summer, Fall

Light:

Full Sun to Part Shade

Salt:

Not available

pH:

Not available

Soil:

Urban (rubble/fill), Clay

Moisture:

Med

Hardiness:

5a - 8a

Could be difficult to source from local nurseries. Attracts birds and butterflies. Tolerates deer and drought.

DEP Urban Plan 2.

Small Globe Thistle

Common:

Small Globe Thistle

Scientific:

Echinops ritro

'Veitch's Blue'

Plant type:

Perennial

Height:

3-3.5 ft

Spread:

1.5-2 ft

Shape:

Clumping

Bloom:

Globular, thistle-like, deep steel blue flower heads (1"-2" diameter) bloom at the stem tops in summer. This cultivar features darker blue flowers and more abundant flowering than the species

Blooming period:

Jul - Sep

Foliage:

Coarse, spiny, deeply-dissected, gray-green leaves are white, tomentose beneath. Basal leaves grow to 6"-8" long, but stem leaves grow shorter

Special Qualities:

Showy Blooms

Level of Maintenance:

Low

Season of Interest:

Summer, Fall

Light:

Full Sun Only

Salt:

Not available

pH:

Acid to Alkaline (5.0-8.0)

Soil:

Urban (rubble/fill), Sand, Loam, Clay

Moisture:

Dry to Med

Hardiness:

3a - 8a

‘Veitch’s Blue’ grows slightly smaller (3-3.5’ tall) and features darker blue flowers and more abundant flowering than the species.

Attracts butterflies. Tolerates rabbits and drought.

Redvein Enkianthus

Common:

Redvein Enkianthus

Scientific:

Enkianthus campanulatus

Plant type:

Shrub

Height:

6-10 ft

Spread:

4-6 ft

Shape:

Upright

Bloom:

Tiny, bell-shaped, nodding, creamy-yellow to whitish-pink flowers (each to 0.5" long) with pink striping and edging appear in pendulous clusters (racemes) in late spring

Blooming period:

May - Jun

Foliage:

Elliptic, serrate, medium green to bluish green leaves (to 3" long) are crowded near the branch ends

Fall:

Fall color is variable, but at its best features quality red foliage with tones of orange, yellow and purple

Special Qualities:

Showy Blooms

Level of Maintenance:

Low

Season of Interest:

Spring, Summer, Fall

Light:

Full Sun to Part Shade

Salt:

Low

pH:

Requires Acid (5.0-7.0)

Soil:

Sand, Loam, Clay

Moisture:

Med

Hardiness:

4a - 7a

Not suitable for right-of-way plantings.

Scouringrush Horsetail

Collections:

  • Rapid Growth Plants

Common:

Scouringrush Horsetail

Scientific:

Equisetum hyemale

Plant type:

Grass/Grass-like

Height:

2-4 ft

Spread:

1-6 ft

Shape:

Upright

Fruit:

Vegetative and fertile stems are alike in this species, with some vegetative stems bearing, at the stem tips, pink cone-like fruiting heads (to 1" long) which contain numerous spores

Foliage:

Tiny, stem-clasping, scale-like leaves

Bark:

This species features rigid, rough, hollow, vertically-ridged, jointed-and-segmented, bamboo-like, dark green stems (to 0.5" diameter at the base) which rise up from the plant rhizomes

Special Qualities:

Distinctive Bark

Level of Maintenance:

Medium

Season of Interest:

Winter

Light:

Full Sun to Part Shade

Salt:

Not available

pH:

Not available

Soil:

Sand, Loam, Clay

Moisture:

Med to Wet

Hardiness:

4a - 9a

Other:

Native

Can spread quickly.

Care must be taken when selecting this plant for the right-of-way to ensure proper site conditions are met.

A general and overhead image of the Eragrostis spectabilis grass, which is located in a garden bed and surrounded by pink muhly grass.

Collections:

Common:

Purple Lovegrass

Scientific:

Eragrostis spectabilis

Plant type:

Grass/Grass-like

Height:

1-2 ft

Spread:

1-2 ft

Shape:

Clumping

Bloom:

Soft reddish-purple flowers in a loose, open inflorescence forming an airy cloud rising above the foliage and covering the plant

Blooming period:

Jul - Aug

Fruit:

Seeds ripen into a soft beige color and the entire panicle can detach and blow away

Foliage:

Flat, coarse, mostly basal, green leaves growing up to 10" long

Fall:

Foliage develops a bronzy-red patina with seeds ripening at this time and providing further interest. Cut back to the ground in spring prior to new growth

Special Qualities:

Showy Blooms, Showy Fruit, Distinctive Foliage, Fall Color

Level of Maintenance:

Low

Season of Interest:

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter

Light:

Full Sun Only

Salt:

Medium

pH:

Acid to Neutral (5.0-7.4)

Soil:

Urban (rubble/fill), Sand, Loam

Moisture:

Dry to Med

Hardiness:

5a - 9a

Other:

Native

Performs best in sandy or gravely loams in hot, dry locations.

Tolerates drought, infertile soils, and air pollution.

DEP Full Sun Plan 1

Cotton Grass

Common:

Cotton Grass

Scientific:

Eriophorum angustifolium

Plant type:

Perennial

Height:

1.5-2 ft

Spread:

1.5-1.5 ft

Shape:

Clumping

Bloom:

Monoecious. Clusters of spikes at the end of stems start off green and brown and mature to white cotton-like seed heads

Blooming period:

May - Jun

Fruit:

Flowers transition into distinctive white seed-heads from July through September that resemble tufts of cotton. Produces a brown seed disbursed by wind

Foliage:

Leaves are triangular, flat and alternately placed on the stem. Medium-green in color

Fall:

Ornamentally insignificant

Special Qualities:

Showy Blooms, Showy Fruit

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:

4a - 8b

Other:

Native

A member of the sedge family, it performs well in wet, boggy or marsh-like conditions. Very adaptable, but prefers acidic, peat-like soils in sun to partial shade.

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