Frostweed
Verbesina virginicaFrostweed is a perennial native to the Texas Hill Country that grows 3–6 ft tall. It wants shade and low to medium water. Blooms white in Jul–Dec. Good for butterflies.
Will it grow in your yard?
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From our guide
Village of the HillsTall shade perennial with broad leaves and flat white flower clusters in fall. After a hard freeze, sap splits the stems into ribbons of ice.
Why it works here
Major late-season nectar for monarchs, in shade where fall bloom is otherwise scarce. The ice formation is a genuine winter event.
Watch out
Tall and coarse — site it toward the back. Reseeds readily.
The facts
7 sources- Type
- Perennial
- Sun
- Shade (under 3 hrs)
- Water
- Low to medium
- Height
- 3–6 ft
- Spread
- Spreads into a colony
- Bloom
- Jul–Dec · white
- Foliage
- Deciduous
- Soil
- Recorded on calcareous, dry, loam, moist, well drained
- Deer
- Moderate — deer may browse it, especially new growth. Browsed occasionally
- Wildlife
- Supports butterflies
Where it grows
Recorded in these EPA Level IV ecoregions in the Austin and Hill Country launch area:
6,509 occurrence records in Central Texas (GBIF).
Can you buy it?
In the Village of the Hills guide, but not on the grower stock lists we read yet. Ask a native-plant nursery.
also grows from seed It starts readily from seed, so a packet from a native-seed supplier, or seed collected with permission, is often the easiest way to get a plant no nursery pots.