Backyard Birds: Chestnut-backed Chickadee

Chestnut-backed Chickadees:  These birds frequent backyard bird feeders regularly where they eat black oil sunflower seed, hulled sunflowers seeds, suet, nyjar seeds and some fruit, but 65% of their diet is made up of insects and other arthropods, including aphids, caterpillars, spiders, leafhoppers, tiny scale insects and wasps. Chestnut-back Chickadees are found up and down the West Coast and in the Pacific Northwest. Their habitat is dense wet coniferous forests of Douglas firs, Monterey pine, Ponderosa pine, Sugar pines, White firs, Incense-cedar and Redwoods. But, while these social noisy little birds prefer dark wet forests they have moved into cities where they utilize stands of willows and alder trees along streams, madrone trees, shrubbery along the edges of oak woodlands and ornamental shrubs in parks and gardens.

Photo by Kathy Munsel, ODFW https://myodfw.com/wildlife-viewing/species/chickadees-and-nuthatches

Article by: Carlotta Lucas, AGC Member

Firewise Plant: Evening Primrose

Plant Name:  Oenothera species

Common name:  Evening Primrose
Plant Type: Herbaceous Perennial or Biennial
Plant Height: 2’ – 6’
Plant Width:  1’ – 2’
Bloom Time: Spring, Summer, Fall
Flower Color:  Yellow or Pink or White
Exposure:  Sun to Shade
Soil Requirements: Rocky or Sandy Soil; Well-Drained
Water Needs: Low to Medium
Fire Resistant: YES; Zone 8 – Plant 30’+ from Structure
Attributes: Attract Moths; Birds Eat Seeds; Attracts Hummingbirds; Fragrant Flowers; Deer Resistant; Drought Tolerant
Uses: Full Sun Ground cover; Rock Gardens; Erosion Control; Native Plant Gardens
Note: Flowers Open in the Evening
Native to: Eastern North America
Oregon Native:  NO
USDA Hardiness Zone:  3 – 8

Report by: Viki Ashford, AGC Member & Master Gardener

Firewise Plant: Prairie Coneflower

Plant Name:  Ratibida columnifera
Common name:  Prairie Coneflower or Mexican Hat
Plant Type:  Herbaceous Perennial
Plant Height: 18” – 24”
Plant Width:  12” – 24”
Bloom Time: July – October
Flower Color:  Yellow or Red with Distinct Tall Center.
Exposure:  Full Sun
Soil Requirements: Dry to Moist Well-Drained; Loamy/Sandy.
Water Needs: Medium
Fire Resistant:  YES; Zone 2 – Plant 40’+ from House.
Attributes: Drought Tolerant; Deer Resistant; Long Bloom Season; Nectar for Bees, Butterflies, Insects; Seeds for Birds.
Uses: Sunny Borders; Rock Gardens; Native Plant Gardens; Containers.
Native to: Most of North America, but NOT Oregon
Oregon Native:   NO
USDA Hardiness Zone:  4 – 9

 

 

Report by: Viki Ashford, AGC Member/Master Gardener

Photo courtesy of: Stickpen, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Horticulture Report: Rock Cress

Plant Name:  Aubrieta deltoidei
Common name: Rock Cress
Plant Type:  Evergreen Herbaceous Perennial
Plant Height:  .5’ – .75’
Plant Width:  1’ – 2’
Bloom Time:  Late Spring – Early Summer
Flower Color:  Purple-Red
Exposure: Full Sun
Soil Requirements: Well-Drained;
Water Need:  Low
Fire Resistant: YES; 30’+ from house.
Attributes: Deer Resistant; Attracts Birds, Butterflies, Hummingbirds;
Uses:  Rock Gardens; Front of Border; Containers.
Note: Cut Back After Flowering, Not in Fall; Short Lived; Divide Every 1 – 3 Years;
Native to: Eastern Europe
Oregon Native:  NO
USDA Hardiness Zone:  4 -8

Purple Rock Cress

Report by: Viki Ashford, AGC Member

Photo Credit: Eli+, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Clemson Variegated Silverberry

Plant Name:  Elaeagnus pungens ‘Clemson Variegated’
Common name:  ‘Clemson Variegated’ Silverberry; Thorny Olive; Silver Thorn
Plant Type:  Evergreen Shrub
Plant Height:  6’ – 10’
Plant Width:  6’ – 10’
Bloom Time:  October – November
Flower Color:  White Flowers followed by Red Fruit
Exposure: Full Sun to Part Shade
Soil Requirements: Tolerates Wide Range of Soils with Good Drainage.
Water Need:  Regular
Firewise: Medium Flammability
Attributes: Deer Resistant; Fragrant, Showy Flowers; Attracts Songbirds & Bees; Drought Resistant; Winter Interest; Variegated Leaves of Green, Gold, Yellow
Uses:  Background Plant; Wind Break; Screen.
Note:  Thorns
Native to:  China & Japan
Oregon Native:  NO
USDA Hardiness Zone:  7 – 11

Report by: Viki Ashford, AGC Member & Master Gardener

Photo from: Oregon State University Dept. of Horticulture https://landscapeplants.oregonstate.edu/node/2132

Posted by: Carlotta Lucas

Oregon Native: Western Serviceberry

Plant Name:  Amelenchier alnifolia
Common name:  Saskatoon/Western Serviceberry
Plant Type:  Perennial Shrub
Plant Height:  3’ – 18’
Plant Width:  6’ – 8’
Bloom Time:  April – June
Flower Color: White Flowers Followed by Blue Berries
Exposure:  Full Sun to Shade
Soil Requirements:  Well-Drained; Tolerant of Sand, Loam, Clay.
Water Need: Medium
Fire Resistance: Zone 2 – Resistant Code 5 (plant 60 ft from home)
Attributes: Fall Color; Some Drought Tolerance; Attracts Birds/Butterflies; Larval Host for Some Butterflies; Value to Native Bees.
Uses:  Ornamental Shrub; Hedge; Native Gardens; Foundation Planting.
Note:  Prone to Root Sucker; Prune to an Open Form for Light & Air Circulation to reduce chance of Disease.
Native to:  North America
Oregon Native:  YES
USDA Hardiness Zone:  2 – 7

Report by: Viki Ashford and Carlotta Lucas

Photo by: Walter Siegmund, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons