Native plants for Davis County, Iowa

25 native plants recorded in Davis County, Iowa

USDA has only 34 plant records of any kind for Davis County, against 1,728 natives statewide. That is a gap in who has collected here, not a shortage of plants, so treat the 25 below as a floor.

By type: 14 wildflowers and herbs, 9 grasses and sedges, 1 trees, 1 vines. USDA has rated sun, soil and water needs for 10 of them (40%), and only those can be matched to a spot below.

What fits each kind of spot in Davis County

Sun all day in Davis County: 10 rated natives

7 wildflowers and herbs, 2 grasses and sedges, 1 trees. The first 8, ranked by how easy a start they make:

1. Gray goldenrod (Solidago nemoralis) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 2 ft mature · rapid growth · perennial
2. Common ladyfern (Athyrium filix-femina) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · photo available · about 3 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial
3. Northern maidenhair (Adiantum pedatum) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · photo available · about 1.3 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial
4. Bearded beggarticks (Bidens aristosa) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 3.5 ft mature · rapid growth
5. Rice cutgrass (Leersia oryzoides) grasses and sedges
   USDA growing data on file · photo available · about 4.9 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial
6. Upland bentgrass (Agrostis perennans) grasses and sedges
   USDA growing data on file · photo available · about 3.5 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial
7. Field horsetail (Equisetum arvense) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · photo available · about 0.9 ft mature · rapid growth · perennial · toxicity: moderate
8. Devil's beggartick (Bidens frondosa) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · photo available · about 4 ft mature · rapid growth

Half shade in Davis County: 8 rated natives

5 wildflowers and herbs, 2 grasses and sedges, 1 trees. The first 8, ranked by how easy a start they make:

1. Gray goldenrod (Solidago nemoralis) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 2 ft mature · rapid growth · perennial · high shade tolerance
2. Rice cutgrass (Leersia oryzoides) grasses and sedges
   USDA growing data on file · photo available · about 4.9 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial · high shade tolerance
3. Bearded beggarticks (Bidens aristosa) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 3.5 ft mature · rapid growth
4. Upland bentgrass (Agrostis perennans) grasses and sedges
   USDA growing data on file · photo available · about 3.5 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial
5. 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
6. Field horsetail (Equisetum arvense) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · photo available · about 0.9 ft mature · rapid growth · perennial · toxicity: moderate
7. Devil's beggartick (Bidens frondosa) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · photo available · about 4 ft mature · rapid growth
8. Black oak (Quercus velutina) trees
   USDA growing data on file · photo available · moderate growth · perennial

Under trees in Davis County: 3 rated natives

2 wildflowers and herbs, 1 grasses and sedges. The first 3, ranked by how easy a start they make:

1. Gray goldenrod (Solidago nemoralis) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 2 ft mature · rapid growth · perennial
2. Rice cutgrass (Leersia oryzoides) grasses and sedges
   USDA growing data on file · photo available · about 4.9 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial
3. 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 Davis County: 6 rated natives

3 wildflowers and herbs, 2 grasses and sedges, 1 trees. The first 6, ranked by how easy a start they make:

1. Bearded beggarticks (Bidens aristosa) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 3.5 ft mature · rapid growth
2. Rice cutgrass (Leersia oryzoides) grasses and sedges
   USDA growing data on file · photo available · about 4.9 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial
3. Upland bentgrass (Agrostis perennans) grasses and sedges
   USDA growing data on file · photo available · about 3.5 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial
4. Field horsetail (Equisetum arvense) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · photo available · about 0.9 ft mature · rapid growth · perennial · toxicity: moderate
5. Smooth horsetail (Equisetum laevigatum) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · photo available · about 5 ft mature · rapid growth · perennial · toxicity: moderate
6. Black oak (Quercus velutina) trees
   USDA growing data on file · photo available · moderate growth · perennial

Sandy, drains fast in Davis County: 6 rated natives

4 wildflowers and herbs, 1 grasses and sedges, 1 trees. The first 6, ranked by how easy a start they make:

1. Gray goldenrod (Solidago nemoralis) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 2 ft mature · rapid growth · perennial
2. Northern maidenhair (Adiantum pedatum) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · photo available · about 1.3 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial
3. Rice cutgrass (Leersia oryzoides) grasses and sedges
   USDA growing data on file · photo available · about 4.9 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial
4. Field horsetail (Equisetum arvense) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · photo available · about 0.9 ft mature · rapid growth · perennial · toxicity: moderate
5. Devil's beggartick (Bidens frondosa) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · photo available · about 4 ft mature · rapid growth
6. Black oak (Quercus velutina) trees
   USDA growing data on file · photo available · moderate growth · perennial

Never watered in Davis County: 1 rated natives

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

1. Gray goldenrod (Solidago nemoralis) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 2 ft mature · rapid growth · perennial

Stays soggy in Davis County: 6 rated natives

4 wildflowers and herbs, 2 grasses and sedges. The first 6, ranked by how easy a start they make:

1. Upland bentgrass (Agrostis perennans) grasses and sedges
   USDA growing data on file · photo available · about 3.5 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial · takes saturated soil
2. Bearded beggarticks (Bidens aristosa) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 3.5 ft mature · rapid growth
3. Rice cutgrass (Leersia oryzoides) grasses and sedges
   USDA growing data on file · photo available · about 4.9 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial
4. 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
5. Field horsetail (Equisetum arvense) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · photo available · about 0.9 ft mature · rapid growth · perennial · toxicity: moderate
6. Devil's beggartick (Bidens frondosa) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · photo available · about 4 ft mature · rapid growth

Natives Davis County has that most of Iowa does not

3 natives here are on file in no more than 5 of Iowa's 99 counties. A few of them:

• Mullein foxglove (Dasistoma macrophylla): 3 counties
• Slimspike threeawn (Aristida longespica): 5 counties
• Violet lespedeza (Lespedeza violacea): 5 counties

Where to start in Davis County

If you have only one spot to fill, sun all day is where Davis County gives you the most rated choice (10 plants), and Gray goldenrod (Solidago nemoralis) 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 15 unrated natives too.