Tag Archives: Attracts Butterflies

Horticulture Report: Dutchman’s Pipe

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Plant Name:  Aristolochia californica

Common name:  Dutchman’s Pipe

Plant type:  Deciduous Vine

Height:  10- 15 (up to 20 feet), plant requires a trellis, or other vertical support.

Bloom Time:  Later winter/Early Spring  

Flower Color:  Flowers are pale Green with dark maroon veins. Flowers are shaped like curved pipes with a flared bowl.

Exposure:  Part Shade

Soil Requirements: Tolerates most soils   

Water Needs:  Somewhat drought tolerant, but likes moisture areas; in nature is grows in moist wooded areas, alongside creeks and streams.

Attributes: Heart-shaped leaves on woody stems. Musty odious flowers attract carrion-feeding flies & gnats for pollination; insects eventually escape after plant attaches pollen to them. Plant is host for native Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly (Battus philenor). Aristolochia californica is the only food source of the Pipevine Swallowtail!  Dutchman ’s Pipe provides habitat for other beneficial insects.

Firewise:  Unable to determine

Native to: Sacramento Valley, Northern Sierra Nevada foothills, San Francisco Bay Area, Northern Inner California Coast Ranges, Southeastern Klamath Mountains

USDA Hardiness Zone: 8 -10

Report by: Carlotta Lucas, AGC Member

Photo of Flowers By: peganum from Small Dole, England – Aristolochia californica, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=47474436

Photo of Pipevine Swallowtail caterpillar by: Joanie Kintscher, AGC Member & Past President

Firewise Plant: Evening Primrose

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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: Muscari armeniacum Grape Hyacinth

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Plant Name:  Muscari armeniacum
Common name:  Grape Hyacinth
Plant Type: Bulbous Perennial
Plant Height: .5’ – .75’
Plant Width:  .25’ – .50’
Bloom Time: April
Flower Color:  Royal Blue with thin White Rim
Exposure:  Full Sun to Part Shade
Soil Requirements: Well Drained; Sandy; Loam
Water Needs: Medium
Fire Resistant:  YES; Zone 10 – Plant 10’+ from structure.
Attributes: Showy Flower; Fragrant; Good Cut Flower; Deer Resistant; Tolerates Clay Soil; Attracts Bees/Butterflies.
Uses: Mass in Open Areas; Around Shrubs; Under Deciduous Trees; Rock Gardens; Front of the Border; Container Plant.
Note:  Reduce Watering After Foliage Begins to Die Back.
Native to: Western Asia, Southeastern Europe
Oregon Native:  NO
USDA Hardiness Zone:  4 – 8

Report by: Viki Ashford, AGC Member, Master Gardener

Photo by (c)2008 Derek Ramsey (Ram-Man), GFDL 1.2 http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/fdl-1.2.html, via Wikimedia Commons

Firewise Plant: Penstemons

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Plant Name:  Penstemon species
Common name:  Penstemon or Beardtongue
Plant Type:  Perennial
Plant Height: 4” – 48”
Plant Width:  6” – 36”
Bloom Time: June – August
Flower Color:  Pink, Purple, Blue, Red, White
Exposure:  Full Sun
Soil Requirements: Fast Draining; Gravelly/Sandy;
Water Needs: Deep, but Infrequent Watering
Fire Resistant:  YES:  Zone 1 – Plant 30’+ from Structure
Attributes: Nectar-Rich Flowers for Pollinators;
Uses: Rock Garden; Cottage Gardens; Borders; Pollinator Gardens; Wildlife Habitat Gardens; Native plant areas; Perennial gardens. 
Note: Leave Some Seeds to Ripen When Deadheading;
Native to: Continental US
Oregon Native:   YES
USDA Hardiness Zone:  3 – 8

Report by: Viki Ashford AGC Member & Master Gardener

Photo by: JerryFriedman, CC BY-SA 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/, via Wikimedia Commons

Hairy Manzanita

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Plant Name:  Arctostaphylos columbiana 
Common name:  Hairy Manzanita
Plant type: Shrub
Height: 3’ – 10’
Spread:  10’
Bloom Time:  March – May
Flower Color:  Pale Pink to White; Fruit is Tawny Orange to Bright Red
Exposure: Sun to Light Shade
Soil Requirements: Fast Draining; Rocky, Sandy Soil
Water Needs: Very Low
Attributes:   Evergreen; Supports Butterflies & Moths & Hummingbirds & Beneficial Insects; Distinctive Bark; Early Season Flowering for Pollinators
Firewise:  NO
Note:   Subject to Leaf Spot; Don’t Fertilize
Uses:  Pollinator Gardens, Native Gardens, Wildlife Habitat Gardens, Natural areas, Perennial gardens
Native to: Northwest California to Southwestern British Columbia
Oregon Native:   YES
USDA Hardiness Zone:  8b -10a

Report by: Viki Ashford, AGC Member & Master Gardener
Photo from Oregon State University: https://landscapeplants.oregonstate.edu/plants/arctostaphylos-columbiana

Firewise Plant: Blanket Flower (Gaillardia)

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Plant Name:  Gaillardia varieties
Common name:  Blanket Flower
Plant Type:  Perennial
Plant Height:  8” – 36”
Plant Width:  12” – 24”
Bloom Time:  June – September
Flower Color:  Red, Gold, Burgundy
Exposure: Full Sun
Soil Requirements: Well-Drained
Water Needs: Low
Fire Resistant:  YES; Zone 1-8, Plant 30’+ from House.
Attributes: Drought Tolerant; Deer Resistant; Attracts Birds & Butterflies; Other Pollinators.
Uses:  Good Cut Flower; Container Plant; Borders; Butterfly Gardens;
Note: Deadhead for Continuous Bloom; Keep Some Seed Heads for Birds; Cutting Back Clumps in Late Summer Increases Chance of Winter Survival; Divide Clumps Every 2 – 3 Years in Spring or Early Fall for Plant Vigor; Susceptible to Powdery Mildew, Leafspot, & Leafhoppers.
Native to: Western North America
Oregon Native:  YES
USDA Hardiness Zone:  3 – 10

Report by: Viki Ashford, AGC Member/Master Gardener

Photo credit: Lazaregagnidze, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons