Did you know the Missouri Botanical Garden has as an online database called Plant Finder with information, recommendations, and photographs for over 8,000 different plants?
Any home gardener, as well as houseplant lovers or botany enthusiasts, can have this database in their toolbox, and the best part is – it’s free!
There can be a bit of a learning curve when it comes to using the database and its various search functions. Read on to find out how the Plant Finder database works, and learn a few tips and tricks to enhance your experience.
How Plant Finder works
Staff at the William T. Kemper Center for Home Gardening carefully research and craft each Each Plant Finder profile using reputable online resources, books, journal articles, and firsthand knowledge shared by the Horticulture staff.
At its core, Plant Finder is actually a part of a larger database maintained by the Garden called the Living Collections Management System (LCMS). It stores detailed information on individual plants in the Garden, such as when and where they were planted, where they were sourced from, and much more. Anyone can access LCMS by simply going to livingcollections.org.
Did you know? Clicking on the “Garden locations” link found on each Plant Finder profile will take you to its LCMS page.
Parts of a Plant Finder profile
Each Plant Finder profile begins with the scientific name of a plant in Latin and how it is categorized, as well as a snapshot of basic information.
This includes:
- hardiness zone ranges
- height, spread, and bloom time data
- sun and soil moisture preferences
- leaf and flower characteristics, and much more.
Did you know? Moving your mouse cursor over the circular, blue “i” symbol next to the common name will display other common names used for the species.
Next is the Culture section, which typically includes a description of preferred soil type and general care requirements, as well as recommended pruning and propagation techniques.
The Noteworthy Characteristics section makes up the largest portion of a Plant Finder profile. It includes a detailed description of the plant species, including its native range, growth habit, and faunal associates, as well as specifics such as leaf shape and inflorescence height. Explanations of both the genus name and specific epithet are also included in this section and can be an invaluable resource for gardeners looking to deepen their understanding of plant scientific names.
Finally, if the profile is for a named cultivar, a description is provided that includes any characteristics which set it apart from the species.
Towards the end of the profile, the Problems section lists any potential pest or disease issues, while the Uses section describes how the plant can be incorporated into a home garden.
Searching with Plant Finder
There are two main ways to search for a plant on Plant Finder: the Basic Search and the Advanced Search.
Find information for a specific plant with Basic Search
If you already know the scientific name of a plant, simply use the Basic Search feature to see if it has a Plant Finder profile. You can search for the whole name or just the genus name or specific epithet.
Tip: Make sure the scientific name is spelled correctly. Misspelled names will not yield results
Did you know? You can use the percent symbol (%) as a wildcard when searching for plant names on Plant Finder. For example, searching for “hydrangea %snow%” will yield all hydrangea cultivars with the word “snow” included in their name.
Find plants that meet your gardening needs with Advanced Search
The Advanced Search feature allows you to select multiple characteristics or growing conditions and will generate a list of plants that meet those criteria.
This can be useful if you do not know the name of the plant you are trying to search for, or if you are designing a garden and want to find plants that will grow well in certain conditions and display certain characteristics. For example, if you wanted to find Missouri native shrubs with showy flowers and colorful fall foliage, you can select “Deciduous shrub” under Plant Type, “Missouri Natives” under Quick Search, “Showy” under Flowers, and “Good Fall” under Leaves.
A Plant Finder page shows criteria marked for a search. The Plant Type has been marked as Deciduous shrub, and several criteria have been marker. The next image shows the result of that search and profiles of plants that match the critera.
If you select too many criteria, you may not get any results. Conversely, if you select too few criteria, you may end up with an overwhelming number of results. Experiment with choosing different options for different variables, or leaving them blank, to see how this effects your results.
Additional resources for home gardeners
Plant Finder is a wonderful tool that can help home gardeners plan out their garden, find recommendations of care, and discover what might be ailing their plants. But there are times you may need some additional insight.
The staff of the Kemper Center for Home Gardening can offer recommendations and solutions to your home gardening needs in person, by phone, or by email.
Got plant questions? Ask the Garden’s Horticulture Answer Service
Garden staff and Master Gardener volunteers provide personalized answers to your specific gardening questions over the phone or through email.
- Phone: 314-577-5143
- E-mail: plantinformation@mobot.org
Explore more home gardening blogs
The Kemper Center for Home Gardening staff have also written several blogs on specific plants and techniques you can explore.
Written by Written by Justine Kandra, Horticulturalist.
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