Fire Pink By Amy Yu (Nature in the Ozarks, 2008, [Online])
Flower Eye-catching Bright red Notched or fringed Inflated calyx looks like a small bladder (Peterson, 2008, [Online])
Leaf Dark green Compliment red flowers Reddish green in winter Simple (not divided into parts) Opposite pairs along stem Smooth along edges (Gardens of the Blue Ridge, 2000, [Online])
Fruit Tan (Redfearn, 2011, [Online])
Root Herb- no woody tissue Taproot (Prairie Moon Nursery, 2012, [Online])
Bloom Time Perennial Mid-spring to mid-summer May to July (Morton Arboretum, 2012, p.1) First bloom- May-June (p.1) Last bloom- July (p.1) (Larson, 2010, [Online])
Attracts Nectar source Birds, butterflies, hummingbirds Seeds attract juncos, pine siskins, sparrows, water pipits, horned larks (Garden Web, 2012, [Online])
Habitat Native habitat- open, moist, dry woods area, a rocky slope Rocky slopes Barren areas (Johnston, 2012, [Online])
Found Found in northeast, central, southern Illinois Found on eastern side (Easyliving Native Perennial Wildflowers, 2012, [Online])
Maintenance Start few new plants each year (Livingston, 2012, [Online])
Light Part shade No deep shade Needs some light (McWort, 2012, [Online])
Climate Cool climate (Harnel, 2012, [Online])
Soil Dry or moist Poor soil (containing too much of one element) Well-drained, rocky, acid (Barnes, 2011, [Online])
Water Low or medium (Gardenguides, 2010, [Online])
Good in Garden Rain garden: habitat is slope, rocky Native habitat: Rocky slope Rain garden: Silty clay loam Needs too much of one element in soil to grow well Rain garden: Cool climate Needs cool climate to grow well (Smith, 2012, [Online])
Bad in Garden Rain garden: All shade Doesn’t grow well in deep shade, needs some light Rain garden: Lots of water Water use is low or medium (Ram-man, 2008, [Online])
Reference List Armitage, A. (2000). Armitage’s garden perennials. Portland, OR: Timber Press. Barnes, T. (2011). Southern region viewing area. Retrieved March 18, 2012 from Easyliving Native Perennial Wildflowers. (2012). Silene virginica fire pink potted plants. Retrieved March 18, 2012 from htm Gardenguides. (2010). Garden community. Retrieved March 18, 2012 from my.gardenguides.com/blogs/bsmitch/2008/4 Gardens of the Blue Ridge. (2000). Gardens of the blue ridge. Retrieved March 18, 2012 from Garden Web. (2012). Cardinal flower and climbing vines. Retrieved March 18, 2012 from /hummingbird /msg html Harner, C. (2012). Weedpicker’s journal. Retrieved March 18, 2012 from cherylharner.blogspot.com/2011_05_01_archive.html Illinois Wildflowers. (2012). Fire pink. Retrieved February 17, 2012 from Johnston, D. (2012). Visual photos. Retrieved March 18, 2012 from visualphotos.com/image/1x /fire_pink_silene_virginica_in_rocky_habitat Larson, K. (2010). Plant of the week. Retrieved March 18, 2012 from fs.fed.us/wildflowers/plant-of-the- week/silene_virginica.shtml Livingston, T. (2012). Wildflowers common to graham county. Retrieved March 18, 2012 from McWort, P. (2012). My virtual Maryland garden. Retrieved March 18, 2012 from Morton Arboretum. (2012). Fire pink. Lisle, IL: Morton Arboretum. Nature in the Ozarks. (2008). Nature in the ozarks. Retrieved March 18, 2012 from Peterson, J. (2008). Archeofacts. Retrieved March 18, 2012 from archaeofacts.com/2008/04/ Prairie Moon Nursery. (2012). Prairie moon nursery. Retrieved March 18, 2012 from Ram-man, I. (2008). File: fire pink. Retrieved March 20, 2012 from wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fire_pink.png Redfearn, P. (2011). Photographs of flowering plants of the ozarks and the interior highlands of north america. Retrieved March 18, 2012 from missouristate.edu/herbarium/plants%20of%20the%20interior%20highlands/plants_of_the_interior_highlands_s.htm Smith, T. (2012). Archeofacts. Retrieved March 20, 2012 from com/2008/04/ Wildflower Center. (2010). Silene virginica. Retrieved February 17, 2012 from
Acknowledgements I would like to thank the Morton Arboretum for letting me use the herbarium to collect research. I would also like to thank Debbi Gayon and Dave Andrusyk for taking the time to come in to talk to us about the rain garden. Last but not least, I would like to thank Mrs. Garetto and Mrs. Wetta for giving me the opportunity to research and plant a rain garden.
Thanks for Listening! Hope you enjoyed it!