Open flowers and tight buds on the same plant. New England aster opens its buds over several weeks, not all at once. Photo: Randy A
A young spicebush in an open, sunny lawn with yellowing scattered through the canopy, Chadwick Arboretum, Ohio. Where the yellow shows up tells you where
A young blue mistflower in Arkansas. Note the paired, triangular, toothed leaves and the round, slightly fuzzy stem. Photo: PK2Morgan, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
A common evening primrose seedling with its first true leaves. Note the red flush at the center and on the leaf stalks. Private garden, Szczecin,
What you’re hoping for: drooping clusters of glossy black fruit at the shoot tips in late summer. Photo: Joanna Boisse, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Dry, curled leaves clinging to the lower stems while the top of the plant stays green and flowering. Quebec. Photo: Gilles Ayotte, Wikimedia Commons (CC
Little bluestem clumps falling open in late summer at the New York Botanical Garden. The grass is healthy, but the stems have lost their upright
What you’re hoping for: blue mistflower in full bloom in mid-September, Loudoun County, Virginia. Photo: Famartin, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) Your blue mistflower is
A classic fall flop: heavy flower clusters pull the outer stems sideways until the clump opens up in the middle. Photo: Daniel S. Katz, Wikimedia
A healthy evening primrose rosette: a flat circle of long leaves with pale midribs and no stem yet. UMCS Botanical Garden, Lublin, Poland. Photo: Salicyna,
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