Tag Archives: Attracts Butterflies

Fire-wise & Native Plant: Red Osier Dogwood

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Plant Name: Cornus sericea
Common name: Red Osier Dogwood, Red Twig Dogwood
Plant type: Deciduous, Multi-Stem Shrub
Height: 6’ -9’
Spread: 7’ – 10’
Bloom Time: May, June
Flower Color: White
Exposure: Full Sun to Part Shade

Soil Requirements: Organically Rich
Water Needs: Medium to Wet
Attributes: Showy Flower; Good Fall Color; Winter Interest; Tolerates Deer; Clay & Wet Soil; Birds Attracted to White Fruits (Drupes); Attracts Waterfowl, Marsh & Shorebirds; Larval Host for Butterflies; Flowers Fragrant; Attracts Bees.

Note: Remove 20-25% of the oldest stems in early spring of each year to stimulate growth of new stems which will display the best color. Can be suckering; Susceptible to Leaf & Twig Blight, Powdery Mildew, Canker & Leaf Spot; Occasional Pests are Scale & Leaf Miners.

Uses: Hedge, Rain Garden; Wet Habitats; Pollinator Garden
Firewise: YES
Native To: North America except Deep South
Oregon Native: YES
USDA Hardiness Zone: 2a – 7b

 

Report by Viki Ashford & Carlotta Lucas, AGC Members

Photos by: Matt Lavin – Wikmedia Commons  https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cornus_sericea_-_red_osier_dogwood_-_53024871939.jpg

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

Fall Seed Collecting 

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Collecting Seeds: Collect seeds that are open-pollinated varieties, which means the seeds being saved will produce plants with the same characteristics as the parent.

Annual flowers: Marigolds, Nasturtiums, Cosmos, Calendula, Snapdragons, Amaranth, Sunflower, Morning glory, Zinnias

Perennial flowers: Rudbeckia hirta (Black-eyed Susan), Echinacea purpurea (Coneflower), Coreopsis (Tickseed), Digitalis (Foxglove), Centranthus ruber (Red valerian), Dianthus barbatus (Sweet William), Aquilegia (Columbine). Continue reading →

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

Today in the Garden

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Member Goly Ostovar shares her summer flowers.

Bougainvillea plants that I overwinter indoors.

Sacred Datura, planted from seed. Flowers open in a half hour window from bud stage to full bloom at dusk, they have a heavenly aroma and last for a day.

The amaranth, also started from seed, have tassels that are growing fast and getting longer every day. Amaranth is a great plant to let go to seed for wintering birds.

Canna lilies are putting on new shoots.

The Zinnia patch in doing well with some new Benary’s Giant varieties.