Smallfruit beggarticks

Year-round

Smallfruit beggarticks is an annual wildflower that needs soil that stays moist to wet, which is different from most Texas natives.

• Give it full sun to part shade and soil that stays moist to wet. Its natural home is marsh edges and low wet ground, not a typical dry flower bed.
• In Fort Worth's clay and limestone soil, pick the lowest spot in the yard, ground near a downspout, or the edge of a rain garden so the roots stay damp.
• It grows about two to three feet tall with small yellow, daisy-like flowers.
• The seeds carry tiny hooked hairs that stick to clothes, fur, and feathers. That is how the plant spreads in the wild, so expect a few volunteer seedlings nearby the next year.
• Bees and butterflies visit the blooms for nectar.
• It is not on the ASPCA toxic plant list for dogs.

Fall

Fall is peak bloom. Small yellow flowers open from September through November.

• Flowers open from September through November, right as many other blooms are winding down.
• Deadhead spent flowers if you want a tidier look near the curb. It also cuts down on how many sticky seeds latch onto pant legs and pet fur.
• Leave a few seed heads on the plant if you want it to come back next year from its own seed.

Deadheading spent blooms as they fade keeps the bed looking tidy for curb appeal.

Winter

This is an annual. It dies back with the first hard freeze and will not resprout from the same root.

• Expect the plant to die back completely after the first freeze, since it is an annual and not a perennial.
• Cut back the dead stalks once they turn brown for a tidier winter bed.
• If seed pods matured in fall, new plants should sprout on their own from the soil next spring, so replanting usually is not necessary.

Cutting back the frost-killed stalks keeps a winter bed from looking ratty.

Spring

Spring is planting season. Sow seed directly into damp soil once the last frost has passed.

• Direct sow seed into consistently damp soil after your last frost date, and keep the seedbed moist while it germinates.
• Pick the wettest spot you have, a low corner, a rain garden, or ground near a downspout, since this plant struggles in an average dry bed.
• If seed pods matured last fall, new seedlings often show up on their own in damp beds this spring.

Summer

Keep the soil consistently wet through the hot summer. This plant does not handle a dry spell the way most Texas natives do.

• Water enough to keep the soil moist to wet all through summer. Letting it dry out is the most common way to lose this plant.
• It reaches its full height of about two to three feet by mid to late summer.
• A layer of mulch helps hold moisture, but the ground underneath should still feel damp, not dry.

Year-round

Smallfruit beggarticks is an annual wildflower that needs soil that stays moist to wet, which is different from most Texas natives.

• Give it full sun to part shade and soil that stays moist to wet. Its natural home is marsh edges and low wet ground, not a typical dry flower bed.
• In Dallas's blackland clay prairie soil, pick the lowest spot in the yard, ground near a downspout, or the edge of a rain garden so the roots stay damp.
• It grows about two to three feet tall with small yellow, daisy-like flowers.
• The seeds carry tiny hooked hairs that stick to clothes, fur, and feathers. That is how the plant spreads in the wild, so expect a few volunteer seedlings nearby the next year.
• Bees and butterflies visit the blooms for nectar.
• It is not on the ASPCA toxic plant list for dogs.

Fall

Fall is peak bloom. Small yellow flowers open from September through November.

• Flowers open from September through November, right as many other blooms are winding down.
• Deadhead spent flowers if you want a tidier look near the curb. It also cuts down on how many sticky seeds latch onto pant legs and pet fur.
• Leave a few seed heads on the plant if you want it to come back next year from its own seed.

Deadheading spent blooms as they fade keeps the bed looking tidy for curb appeal.

Winter

This is an annual. It dies back with the first hard freeze and will not resprout from the same root.

• Expect the plant to die back completely after the first freeze, since it is an annual and not a perennial.
• Cut back the dead stalks once they turn brown for a tidier winter bed.
• If seed pods matured in fall, new plants should sprout on their own from the soil next spring, so replanting usually is not necessary.

Cutting back the frost-killed stalks keeps a winter bed from looking ratty.

Spring

Spring is planting season. Sow seed directly into damp soil once the last frost has passed.

• Direct sow seed into consistently damp soil after your last frost date, and keep the seedbed moist while it germinates.
• Pick the wettest spot you have, a low corner, a rain garden, or ground near a downspout, since this plant struggles in an average dry bed.
• If seed pods matured last fall, new seedlings often show up on their own in damp beds this spring.

Summer

Keep the soil consistently wet through the hot summer. This plant does not handle a dry spell the way most Texas natives do.

• Water enough to keep the soil moist to wet all through summer. Letting it dry out is the most common way to lose this plant.
• It reaches its full height of about two to three feet by mid to late summer.
• A layer of mulch helps hold moisture, but the ground underneath should still feel damp, not dry.