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Lysimachia quadriflora (Prairie Loosestrife)

Lysimachia quadriflora (Prairie Loosestrife)

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Regular price $ 240.00
Regular price Sale price $ 240.00
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Prairie loosestrife needs steady moisture but has limited tolerance for crowded neighbors. Sunny, calcium-rich ground with some open space suits its modest stems.

For Lysimachia quadriflora, choose full to partial sun and consistently wet to moist soil. Recorded habitats include wet to moist black-soil, sand and dolomite prairies; Calcareous sand flats; Bottomland woodland openings; Seepy streambanks; Fens; Hillside seeps and springs; Swamps. Reported height: ¾–2½ ft.

Growth habit: slender rhizomes occasionally produce small clonal colonies. Allow space for this growth between neighboring plants over several seasons, rather than spacing only for the size of a young plant.

Plant specifications

Key growing facts

Sunlight Full to partial sun
Soil moisture Consistently wet to moist
Height ¾–2½ ft
Bloom season Early to late summer
Show / hide ▾Growing & planting details
Growth habit Slender rhizomes occasionally produce small clonal colonies
Root form Fibrous roots; Rhizomes

Plant identification & seed reference

Botanical name Lysimachia quadriflora
Other common names fen loosestrife
Plant family Myrsinaceae

Plant characteristics

Although its name Lysimachia quadriflora (Prairie Loosestrife) sounds as if it is related to the invasive purple loosestrife, it is not, and moreover, it is a beneficial native plant.  It is a relatively common plant of quality wet prairie, marshes, and sedge meadows and can be used very effectively in wetland restoration projects.  It can also be used in a rain garden as it has nice showy flowers in the mid-summer.

  • Flower Color Yellow
  • Flower Time July, August
  • Show / hide ▾Plant communities & associatesNo verified list yet

    A species-level list has not yet been verified for this listing.

    Show / hide ▾Native range & C-value

    State nativity describes a broad range. Use the Chicago-region assessment for local context; a state listing does not establish county nativity.

    Wetland indicator — NWPL 2022 Midwest OBL
    C-value — Chicago region, Flora 2017 10
    Chicago-region native — Flora 2017 Yes
    Native range — U.S. states Alabama; Arkansas; Georgia; Illinois; Indiana; Iowa; Kentucky; Maryland; Michigan; Minnesota; Missouri; New York; North Dakota; Ohio; Oklahoma; Pennsylvania; South Dakota; Tennessee; Virginia; West Virginia; Wisconsin
    County nativity Cook County, Illinois — native-remnant population documented in the 2000 survey. Partial county coverage; other counties have not yet been assessed here.
    Show / hide ▾Pollinators & wildlifeNo verified list yet

    No additional named relationships have been verified for this listing.

    Show / hide ▾Frequently asked questions

    What are the ideal growing conditions for Prairie Loosestrife?
    Light: Full to partial sun. Soil moisture: Consistently wet to moist.

    Is Prairie Loosestrife deer and herbivore resistant?
    Species-specific deer resistance has not been verified here. Even plants described as resistant may be browsed. Use physical protection where deer damage is a concern.

    When should I expect Prairie Loosestrife to bloom?
    Typical flowering period: Early to late summer. Timing varies with location and weather.

    Show / hide ▾Sources & ecological notes

    Illinois communities & local records: Shouba & Murray: Wolf Road Prairie, Cook County (2000).

    Native range & ecological ratings: Flora of the Chicago Region (2017), via Universal FQA; USACE Chicago FQA (2017); Kew WCVP / Plants of the World Online; USACE National Wetland Plant List.

    Growing conditions & other references: Illinois Wildflowers, John Hilty.

    Native range does not identify the origin of the seed or plants offered. Community and wildlife records apply to the locations and conditions described.

    Research notes & credits

    USACE/ERDC fqadata — Chicago Region FQA 2017. Herman, B., Sliwinski, R. & Whitaker, S. (2017), Chicago Region FQA Calculator; distributed by USACE/ERDC in fqadata under CC0. Values may differ from Flora of the Chicago Region (2017). CC0 dedication. Retained for comparison; the displayed C-value follows Flora database 80.

    Range data: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; 4 June 2026 release, accessed 7 September 2026. © The Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. CC BY 3.0; selected and reformatted. Kew cannot warrant the quality or accuracy of these data. This use has no Kew endorsement.

    Flora rating attribution: Kenneth Johnson (2018), Flora of the Chicago Region UFQA Database, following Gerould Wilhelm and Laura Rericha (2017), Flora of the Chicago Region: A Floristic and Ecological Synthesis. Individual rating facts are presented with original commentary; the calculator’s software license is not treated as a license for the underlying Flora publication.

    Growing guidance: Illinois Extension — Keeping deer out of the yard and garden. Selected facts in original wording. General deer advice is not a species resistance rating.


    Plant Shipping & Care

    We want to ensure that our customers get what they want, a native backyard oasis. To do that, we need to follow a few simple guidelines and give you some information and pointers to make sure you get your plants delivered in a healthy state.

    As a reminder, you will receive an email to confirm your pickup or shipping window just before the plants are ready. See Order Fulfillment below for seasonal fulfillment windows.

     

    Choices to Receive Your Plants & Accessories

    • Website orders: Seed, plugs and bare-root plants offered for shipping are shipped to your address. Shipping charges are calculated at checkout.
    • Container trees and shrubs: Some #3 and #5 container options are offered for scheduled pickup only. Check the selected product option and the cart pickup instructions before ordering. Pickup and shipped items require separate orders where indicated in the cart.
    • Wholesale orders: Delivery and pickup are arranged separately according to the order, supplier yard and location. Wholesale pickup is free.
    • Pickup locations and dates are confirmed by email. Please wait for confirmation before traveling to a pickup site. Our offices are not retail stores or nursery pickup locations.

     

    Order Fulfilment - When Your Plants or Other Items Will Be Ready

    We take orders all year long and seed is shipped all year, but we only provide the plants to you in certain fulfillment windows to ensure healthy plants.

    Wholesale Orders

    • Shipped or are Ready For Pick Up As Requested.

     

    Retail & Website Orders

    • Seed Typically Ships Out Within One Week Of Order All Year Long
    • Typically, single species flats ship when ready, sometimes as soon as early to mid-April (depends on weather) through early-October.
    • Mixed species kits are batched and shipped as indicated on the product page.
    • If a plant order is placed while outside of the plant fulfillment window your plants will be reserved through your payment, however, the order will not be fulfilled and shipped until the following spring. We don't want to provide you plants when they won't be happy during the cold winter months. 
    • Early in the spring and later in the fall certain species may be dormant or partially dormant with brown leaves, however they will return to grow healthy next growing season.
    • Your order may arrive in several different shipments.
    • If certain plants within an order will not be available until a later date, we may choose to hold the full order until all are ready.  In certain circumstances, we may choose to send them in two separate shipments 
    • Fulfillment is always dependent upon plant availability.  We try our best but sometimes plants do not overwinter well and perish.  If a plant is on back order you will receive an email indicating the estimated shipping date.  If we can not provide the plant we will first notify you and give you an option of substitution or a refund of that individual species.
    • Plants are typically only packaged and shipped on Mondays to ensure they do not sit in the harsh delivery facility for extended periods of time over the weekend. You will receive a confirmation email once your delivery has been shipped and to estimate your delivery date.
    • Apparel & accessories are ready typically within one to two weeks. See product page for holiday shipping.

    Where We Ship

     

     

          What to Expect When Receiving Your Delivery

          • Your plants will be packaged with the utmost care
          • We will need to cut back certain plants prior to shipping. This seems counter-intuitive, however, the fewer leaves the less water the plants can lose during shipping, resulting in healthier plants for you. This also enables the plants to fit within the protective packaging and shipped safely.

           

             Shipments

            • Larger plant shipments will look similar to the picture below with a tray of your plants and a cardboard box to protect them during shipping.

             

             

            What to Do With Your Plants After  Receiving Your Delivery

            • Unpack your order IMMEDIATELY
            • Inspect for damage and report any issues immediately to Natives@NaturalCommunities.net
            • Water your plants
            • Install your plants as quickly as possible and water the entire garden area thoroughly
            • If you cannot install your plants immediately
              • Some plants may not be in a container, put them into some kind of a container such as a paper cup with loose soil until installation
              • Make sure each plant is receiving the appropriate amount of light.
              • Continue to water daily each morning and possibly again in the afternoon
              • No additional fertilizer is needed
            How to install native plugs
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