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Great Design Plant: Purple Prairie Clover
Bees and butterflies and color, oh my! This cheery native perennial will energize your landscape
Houzz Contributor. I am a landscape/garden designer, garden coach, writer, and public speaker with over 25 years of professional experience creating beautiful outdoor environments that are lifestyle friendly and Colorado "green". Please contact me at jhcstudios@yahoo.com if you would like more information about my services.
Houzz Contributor. I am a landscape/garden designer, garden coach, writer,... More »
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Purple prairie clover (also known as violet prairie clover) is a showy, adaptable perennial native to a wide variety of prairie ecosystems across most of central North America, from Saskatchewan down through Texas. It’s not a true clover but rather a deep-rooted legume that fixes nitrogen in the soil, so planting this perennial is a beautiful way to add fertility to a naturalized garden area.
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| Botanical name: Dalea purpurea Common name: Purple prairie clover USDA zones: 3 to 9 (find your zone) Water requirement: Low Light requirement: Full sun Mature size: 18 to 30 inches tall and wide Benefits and tolerances: Long blooming; attracts bees and butterflies; tolerates full sun, drought and heavy clay soils When to plant: Spring through fall Seasonal interest: Blooms in late spring through summer |
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| Distinguishing traits. Masses of showy, vibrant, violet-pink flower spikes offer a bold contrast to the delicate, lacy foliage. Many xeric plants feature gray-green or silver foliage; purple prairie clover’s is a refreshing deep blue-green. The plant form is an upright, rounded silhouette. |
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How to use it. Purple prairie clover is the perfect addition to any wildflower or meadow planting. Use it in bold drifts with native grasses and wildflowers — companion plants with silvery foliage or yellow flowers make for a nice contrast. Consider using fringed sage (Artemisia frigida), blue gramma grass (Bucheloe dactyloides), Western blue spiderwort (Tradescantia occidentalis) and wild four o'clock (Mirabilis multiflorus).
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| Planting notes. Plant purple prairie clover in full sun. Be thoughtful when choosing the location, because its deep taproot makes it difficult to move. The plant adapts well to most soils, including clay. Although it's fairly drought tolerant once established, it will benefit from supplemental water during extended dry periods. |
Ideabook published on Dec. 8, 2012.
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About this plant specifically: it is safe for rabbits, cattle, goats, horses, and humans, and it is not on either the ASPCA or the Cornell list of plants that are poisonous for dogs. However, it is also not on the ASPCA list of SAFE plants for dogs. These sites have strong warnings that their lists are not exhaustive, just having the best info they can get, or the most common plants. As the Cornell site states (at http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/index.html ):
"IMPORTANT:Just because something is on the poisonous plants list doesn't mean it can't be a good food or feed, and just because it is absent from the list doesn't mean it is safe!"
I feel that I can't tell from this if it is safe for dogs, would consider it probably-safe, and would check with either a vet or a university extension to see if more info was available.