1. K-State home
  2. »Research and Extension
  3. »Sedgwick
  4. »Gardening and Lawn Care
  5. »Trees, Shrubs, Flowers, Grasses
  6. »Annual and Perennial Flowers

Sedgwick County

Sedgwick County
7001 W. 21st Street N.
Wichita, KS  67205
Map & Location

Office Hours:
8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Monday - Friday

316-660-0100
sg@listserv.ksu.edu

Annual and Perennial Flowers

Kansas State University has evaluated annual and perennial flowers that are most adapted to our prairie climate.  Prairie Star Annuals and Prairie Bloom Perennials are the best from this testing program.

On Our Grounds

There are a wide variety of both annual and perennial flowers on our grounds. Annual flowers are primarily found in our Demonstration Garden and at the building entrances. Perennials are found in the shade garden, the hosta collection, the Great Plants of the Great Plains Garden, and the daylily collection. We also have a garden of hardy cacti and succulents near the Ridge Road entrance to our grounds. 

FAQS

What plants will do well in a shady location? 

How do I divide my perennials? 

What are some native plants that I could consider for my garden? 

 

WATCH Celosia

"The story of the making of a Prairie Star Annual.  In the mid 1990's Sedgwick County Extension Master Gardener Lisa Johnson brought us some crested celosia plants to put into our demonstration plantings in the Sedgwick County Extension Arboretum.  Lisa received the seeds when she was a student at the Wichita Area Technical College Horticulture program. The technical college had received the seeds from an "old German man" who liked this plant and had grown them from seed for years.  At the Extension Education Center we were involved with the Prairie Star trials and evaluations in demonstrating some great new varieties.  At the end of the season we noticed that this "old German man's celosia" was just as good, if not better than the latest varieties in the Prairie Star Trials.  That fall, Dr. Alan Stevens asked for some seed to put into the Prairie Star Trial the next spring. The problem was - in order to be in the trial, the plant needed a name.  Extension Horticulture Agent Bob Neier gave it the name of WATCH Celosia in recognition from where it came - the Wichita Area Technical College Horticulture program.

It is fun to compare the new varieties next to the old varieties just to see how far we have come in plant breeding and development.  In this case, the old heirloom"pass-down" plant performed well enough to make the Prairie Star list of the "best of the best" for Kansas conditions.

The plants are available in limited supply from greenhouses that grow the plant and collect seed each fall.  This is a plant that you only need to buy once and then collect seed each year for your next year's planting.

WATCH Celosia

flowers

Plant in full sun, attractive foliage
13" tall and 15" wide, hot pink flowers
Very uniform growth

Contact Information

Have Questions? Contact:

Sedgwick County 
Horticulture
7001 W. 21st St. North
Wichita KS 67205-1759
(316) 660-0144

Garden Hotline
(316) 660-0190
sgemghotline@gmail.com
Mon-Fri
9 am - Noon
1 pm - 4 pm

Matt McKernan
Ornamental Horticulture Agent
(316) 660-0140
mckernan@ksu.edu