Category Archives: Horticulture Reports

Native & Fire-wise: Curl Leaf Mountain Mahogany

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Plant Name: Cercocarpas ledifolius

Common name: Curl Leaf Mountain Mahogany

Plant type: Densely Branching Evergreen Shrub or Tree

Height: 7’ – 33’

Spread:  5’ – 10’
Bloom Time:  December – April

Flower Color:  Cream, White, Yellow

Exposure:  Full Sun to Part Shade

Soil Requirements:  Medium to Fast Soil Drainage; Rocky Soil.

Water Needs:  Low to Very Low; Drought Adapted.

Attributes:  Spicy Aroma; White Bark; Leaves Green on Top & Silvery Underneath; short, spiral, silver-haired seed plumes are eye-catching; Attracts Butterflies & Birds.

Note: Nitrogen Fixing; Resistant to Disease & Insects.

Uses: Hedge; Rock Garden; Erosion Control.

Fire-wise: YES

Native To:  Sierra Nevada, Cascades, Montana, Colorado

Oregon Native: YES

USDA Hardiness Zone:  5b – 9a

Article by: Viki Ashford, AGC Member

Photo Credit: https://landscapeplants.oregonstate.edu/plants/cercocarpus-ledifolius

Fire-wise Plant: Western redbud

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Plant Name: Cercis occidentalis
Common name: Western redbud
Plant type: Deciduous Tree or Shrub
Height: 10’ – 20’
Spread:  10’ – 15’
Bloom Time:  February – April
Flower Color:  Magenta or Bright Pink; Fall Color
Exposure:  Full Sun to Part Shade
Soil Requirements:  Drainage Fast to Slow; Clay, Loam, Sand
Water Needs:  Low; Drought Tolerant
Attributes:  Very Showy Flowering; Deer Resistant; Attracts Bees, Butterflies, Hummingbirds, Moths, Native Pollinators; Four Season Interest; Pest & Disease Resistant;
Note: Flowers are popular with a variety of native bees, including leafcutter bees; Responds well to Pruning including occasional hard pruning
Uses: Bank Stabilization; Beds & Borders; Small Gardens
Firewise: YES
Native To:  California, Southwest, Arizona, Rocky Mountains, Utah
Oregon Native: NO
USDA Hardiness Zone:  6 – 9

Article by: Viki Ashford, AGC Member

Photo Credit: LaurentianShield, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Native & Fire-wise: Cusick’s camas

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Plant Name: Camassia cusickii
Common name: Cusick’s camas
Plant type: Bulb
Height: 2’ – 2.5’
Spread:  .75’ – 1’
Bloom Time:  May/June
Flower Color:  Blue
Exposure:  Full Sun to Part Shade
Soil Requirements:  Moist, fertile, acidic, humusy, well-drained soils; Tolerates Clay Soil.
Water Needs:  Medium to Wet; Tolerates Summer Drought, but keep Moist during Growing Season.
Attributes:  Showy Flowers; Cut Flowers; Deer Resistant; No serious Diseases or Insects; Attracts Bees, Butterflies, Hummingbirds.
Note: Plant bulbs 4” deep and 4-6″ apart in the fall.
Uses: Naturalize; Plant along Pond edges; Woodland Garden.
Fire-wise: YES
Native To:  Pacific Northwest, Idaho, Oregon
Oregon Native: YES
USDA Hardiness Zone: 3 – 8

Article by: Viki Ashford, AGC Member

Photo Credit: Kurt Stüber [1], CC BY-SA 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/, via Wikimedia Commons

Fire-wise & Native: Port Orford Cedar

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Plant Name: Chamaecyparis lawsoniana

Port Orford cedar (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana (A. Murray) Parl.) Photo by Gary A. Monroe, USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database 

Common name: Port Orford Cedar

Plant type: Conifer Evergreen Tree (not a true cedar)

Height: 110’ – 180’ (Note: this is a huge tree. It’s not recommended for residential landscapes) *See uses below.

Spread: 30’ – 60’

Bloom Time: Cones, Not Flowers

Flower Color: Inconspicuous; Female Cone Green to Blue-Green Ripening to Brown; Male Cones Dark Brown to Red

Exposure: Sun or Partial Shade

Soil Requirements: Well-Drained, Moist; High Organic Matter

Water Needs: High to Moderate

Attributes: Male Pollen Cones on Tips of Branchlets; Winter Interest; Deer Resistant; Nesting Places for Wildlife; Wildlife Food Source;

Note: Short Ascending Branches, Drooping at Tips; Narrow, Pyramidal, Buttressed Trunk;Being Attacked by a Root Rot Fungus, Phytophthora lateralis, Which is Devastating the Species in the US; Phytophthora lateralis is a fungus which has spread through the native range of this tree at a rapid rate. It causes an often-fatal root rot disease which poses a significant threat to the survival of the species; Dead Branches may be Pruned, but do not cut into Living Wood. Prune in Winter when Wood Boring Insects are Less active

*Uses: Huge tree that is infrequently grown in landscapes.! A large number of compact to dwarf cultivars of this species are available in commerce for ornamental plantings; Hedge

Firewise: Considered a Firewise plant but do not plant a Port Orford Cedar within 50 feet of your house or outbuildings.

Native To: Coast of Southwestern OR, Siskiyou Mountains, Mount Shasta

Oregon Native: YES

USDA Hardiness Zone: 5 – 8

Article by: Viki Ashford, AGC member

https://calscape.org/plant/Chamaecyparis-lawsoniana-%28Port-Orford-Cedar%29/gallery#

Oregon Native & Firewise Plant

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Plant Name:  Asclepias fascicularis

Common name: Narrowleaf Milkweed

Plant type: Deciduous Flowering Perennial

Height: 3’

Spread:  8” – 10”
Bloom Time:  Summer to Fall

Flower Color: Lavender, Pink, Greenish White

Exposure:  Full Sun

Soil Requirements: Good Drainage; Dry to Moist Soil; Grows in Clay Soil

Water Needs:  Low

Attributes:  Attracts Monarch Butterflies; Host Caterpillars; Attracts Native Bees, Bumble Bees; Predatory Insects; Monarch Butterflies lay eggs & larvae feed & mature into chrysalis; Deer Resistant; Drought Tolerant

Note: Open Seed Pods spill Plentiful Silky Hairs; Somewhat Toxic; Spreads by Rhizomes

Uses:  Native Gardens; Pollinator Gardens; Rock Gardens

Firewise:  YES

Native to: Western United States

Oregon Native: YES

USDA Hardiness Zone: 6a – 10b

Article by: Viki Ashford, AGC Member

Photo credit Björn S…Wiki commons