Native plants for Buchanan County, Iowa

10 native plants recorded in Buchanan County, Iowa

USDA has only 16 plant records of any kind for Buchanan County, against 1,728 natives statewide. That is a gap in who has collected here, not a shortage of plants, so treat the 10 below as a floor.

By type: 10 wildflowers and herbs. USDA has rated sun, soil and water needs for 3 of them (30%), and only those can be matched to a spot below.

What fits each kind of spot in Buchanan County

Sun all day in Buchanan County: 3 rated natives

3 wildflowers and herbs. The first 3, ranked by how easy a start they make:

1. Nodding beggartick (Bidens cernua) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 3.2 ft mature · rapid growth
2. Western brackenfern (Pteridium aquilinum) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · photo available · about 6.6 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial · toxicity: slight
3. Smooth horsetail (Equisetum laevigatum) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · photo available · about 5 ft mature · rapid growth · perennial · toxicity: moderate

Half shade in Buchanan County: 2 rated natives

2 wildflowers and herbs. The first 2, ranked by how easy a start they make:

1. Nodding beggartick (Bidens cernua) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 3.2 ft mature · rapid growth
2. Smooth horsetail (Equisetum laevigatum) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · photo available · about 5 ft mature · rapid growth · perennial · high shade tolerance · toxicity: moderate

Under trees in Buchanan County: 1 rated natives

1 wildflowers and herbs. The first 1, ranked by how easy a start they make:

1. Smooth horsetail (Equisetum laevigatum) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · photo available · about 5 ft mature · rapid growth · perennial · toxicity: moderate

Heavy clay in Buchanan County: 2 rated natives

2 wildflowers and herbs. The first 2, ranked by how easy a start they make:

1. Nodding beggartick (Bidens cernua) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 3.2 ft mature · rapid growth
2. Smooth horsetail (Equisetum laevigatum) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · photo available · about 5 ft mature · rapid growth · perennial · toxicity: moderate

Sandy, drains fast in Buchanan County: 2 rated natives

2 wildflowers and herbs. The first 2, ranked by how easy a start they make:

1. Nodding beggartick (Bidens cernua) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 3.2 ft mature · rapid growth
2. Western brackenfern (Pteridium aquilinum) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · photo available · about 6.6 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial · toxicity: slight

Never watered in Buchanan County: 1 rated natives

1 wildflowers and herbs. The first 1, ranked by how easy a start they make:

1. Western brackenfern (Pteridium aquilinum) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · photo available · about 6.6 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial · toxicity: slight

Stays soggy in Buchanan County: 2 rated natives

2 wildflowers and herbs. The first 2, ranked by how easy a start they make:

1. Nodding beggartick (Bidens cernua) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 3.2 ft mature · rapid growth
2. Smooth horsetail (Equisetum laevigatum) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · photo available · about 5 ft mature · rapid growth · perennial · takes saturated soil · toxicity: moderate

Where to start in Buchanan County

If you have only one spot to fill, sun all day is where Buchanan County gives you the most rated choice (3 plants), and Nodding beggartick (Bidens cernua) is the easiest start on that list. Never watered is the hard one here: 1 rated plant, so for that spot it is worth asking a local native-plant society about the 7 unrated natives too.