Puffballs

Year-round

Barbara's buttons is a low, tufted perennial native to prairies and limestone glades across the south-central United States, from Kansas and Missouri south into Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Texas. It forms a rosette of narrow, grass-like leaves with leafless stalks that each carry a single round, fragrant flower head.

• Give it full sun to part shade and sharp drainage; it grows in sandy, clay, or limestone-based soil as long as it is not soggy.
• It is drought tolerant once established and needs little supplemental water outside of extended dry spells.
• Keep it in a well-drained bed or rock garden rather than a low spot that collects runoff.
• It is a short-lived perennial that may need occasional replanting, or can be allowed to self-seed to persist in a bed.

Its low, tidy rosette and single round flower heads read as a deliberate rock-garden or border planting rather than a wild patch.

Fall

Fall is a reasonable time to plant new stock or divide an established clump so it can settle in before winter.

• Get new plants in the ground several weeks before the first hard frost.
• Allow some seed heads to mature and drop if you want the planting to self-sow and persist, since this is a short-lived perennial.
• Clear fallen leaves off the rosette so it is not smothered heading into winter.

Winter

The basal rosette persists through mild winters in this region, resting until spring growth resumes.

• Keep the crown out of standing water, which is the main winter risk to this species.
• No mulch is usually needed beyond what naturally collects in a rock garden or open bed.
• Avoid winter watering; the rosette prefers to stay on the dry side while dormant.

A low, tidy rosette through winter needs no cleanup and reads as an intentional groundcover.

Spring

Spring is the main season for this plant: the basal rosette sends up leafless stalks topped with fragrant, button-like flower heads from April into June.

• Watch for flower stalks emerging above the rosette as the weather warms.
• Water lightly during dry spells, but keep the crown out of standing water.
• Fragrant blooms draw in small bees and butterflies.

Summer

Bloom has usually finished by summer, and established plants tolerate heat and dry spells well.

• Established plants need little to no supplemental watering through summer.
• Trim spent flower stalks back to the rosette once bloom ends.
• Good drainage matters more than watering; avoid wet, low-lying spots.