Fall flowers for pollinators:
October Flowers for Pollinators
Category Archives: Pollinator Gardening
Zinnia Garden Bliss: Monarch Butterfly, Hummingbirds, and Cooler Temperatures
A monarch butterfly spent the whole afternoon in the zinnia garden, and it seemed like she was deposited some eggs the milkweeds. Several humming birds continue to visit the zinnias and the trumpet vine. The garden is so much happier with cooler temperatures. ~Goly Ostovar, AGC Member
Today in the Garden
Madia elegans: Elegant tar weed. This is blooming right now. It is a sun-loving native annual that self-sows widely. Drought and deer tolerant. Blooms morning and evening, but closes up during the middle of the day. See the bumble bee getting pollen off the flowers. The plant is about 3′ high and 1 1/2′ high.
Epilobium canum, or California Fuchsia. It used to be called Zauschneria californica. It is a later blooming perennial. It is drought and deer resistant. This one is right near an alley and a driveway, and is fine with hot, dry soil. Hummingbirds love it. I plant it with dark blue Bachelors’ Buttons, annuals which seed around.
Gaillardia , or Blanket Flower. It is a long-blooming perennial with interesting round seed heads. If some of the seed heads are left on, it will self-sow. This particular plant is probably a hybrid, called Gaillardia x grandlora ‘Goblin’, which is a more compact cultivar. The native is Gaillardia aristata. It is drought tolerant and deer resistant.
Praying Mantis on Verbena, previously seen eating a bee from the head down. After crawling up on this bloom, she crawled down on the stem and basically disappeared, lurking until another insect came along.
Photos and article by Sherri Morgan, AGC Vice President
Crabapples Add Winter Interest
Crabapples are an excellent choice for creating winter interest in a landscape and their small fruits are a desirable food source for birds. Crabapples have a reputation of being messy, but if you purchase trees with “persistent” fruit, then the fruits stays on the tree longer, making less of a mess on the ground and leaving more fruit on the tree for birds. Persistent fruits also provide longer winter interest with red, pink, orange or yellow fruits hanging on trees.
Crabapple blossoms come in white, light pink, deep pink and rose-colored, which attracts butterflies and bees in the spring. Some varieties have fragrant flowers and some have purple foliage. Crabapples come in various sizes to accommodate small, medium or large yards. In this first posting I am listing three dwarf varieties for small spaces and ones with excellent to good disease resistance; there are many more. (*chart)
Hardiness Zones 4-8. Sun Exposure: Full Sun 6+ hours, Part Sun 4-6 hours, Full Shade up to 4 hours. Note: Where fire blight is a concern, avoid spring pruning (when bacterium can enter fresh open cuts).
Dwarf Crabapples
Lollipop Crabapple: 10 ft H x 10 ft W; Neat formal compact dwarf tree 
with rounded head, fine texture with small leaves and dense growth habit and symmetrical form. Foliage: Green. Flowers: White with yellow stamens. Fruit: Bright red, 3/8-inch. Disease resistant ratings- Excellent: Mildew & Cedar Apple Rust. Good: Fire Blight & Scab.
Sargent Crabapple: 8 ft H x12ft W; Natural forming dwarf tree with 
horizontal spreading branches. Foliage: Dark Green. Flowers: Profuse ½-inch white fragrant flowers. Fruit: 1/4-inch Bright Red, Profuse, Persistent. Disease resistant ratings- Excellent: Mildew, Cedar Apple Rust, Fire Blight & Scab.
Pink Princess Crabapple: 8 ft h x 12 ft W; Natural dwarf tree with low spreading branches. Foliage: Purple turning to Bronze-Green. Flowers: Rose
Pink. Fruit: Deep Red, ¼ -inch. Disease resistant ratings-Excellent: Cedar Apple Rust, Mildew, Fire Blight & Scab.
Article by: Carlotta Lucas, AGC Member
*Chart by: J. Frank Schmidt & Son Co https://www.jfschmidt.com/pdfs/JFS_CRAB_CHART.pdf
Today in the Garden
‘Teddy Bear’ Sunflowers (Helianthus annuus), Easy to grow Annual, Full sun, Well-drained soil, Semi-Drought Tolerant: Water deeply when top 2 inches of soil is dry, Height: 18-24 inches, Flowers: 3-6 inches unique double blooms (pompom-style) Color: Deep golden yellow, Attracts: Pollinators, Provides seeds for Birds
Photos by: Carlotta Lucas, AGC Member
Pollination Place Tour
Kristina Lefever, President of the Rogue Valley Pollinator Project & Ashland Garden Club Member.
Kristina gives us another tour of the native pollinator frontscape in progress at the Pollination Place, 312 N. Main, Phoenix, OR.