Tag Archives: Bird-Friendly Plants

Horticulture Report: Little Goblin® Dwarf Ilex verticillata

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Dwarf Ilex verticillata

Proven Winners®:  Little Goblin ® (female)   Little Goblin Guy® (male)

Ilex verticillata are dioecious meaning they are male or female plants.  A male plant is needed for female plants to produce berries.  One male plant can pollinate up to 10 female plants. Male plant must be planted within 50 ft of female plants, plus the male’s blooming time must align with female’s bloom time.

Common Name: Winterberry Holly

Plant type: Deciduous Dwarf  Shrub

Height: 3-4 feet        Width: 3-4 feet
Bloom Time: Late Spring

Flower Color:  White (small)
Exposure:  Full Sun (6+ hours), Part Sun (4-6 hours)

Firewise: Yes- Low flammability, 6 feet of structure

Soil Requirements: Prefers rich organic acidic soil, but will grow in average garden soil.

Water Needs:  Moist Areas
Attributes: Vibrant Red Winter Berries; Important food source for American Robins; Winter Interest; Slow growing; Blooms on old wood  
Uses:  Bioswales, Wetland habitats, Native gardens, Bird habitat, Rain garden, Firewise garden, Wildlife gardens, Cutting garden, Container planting, Floral arrangements.
Native to: Eastern North America

USDA Hardiness Zone: 3a-9b

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

Fire-Resistant Plant: Greenleaf Manzanita

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Plant Name:  Arctostaphylos patula
Common name:  Greenleaf Manzanita
Plant type: Shrub
Height: 3.3’ – 7’
Spread: 6’ –  9’
Bloom Time:  Winter – Spring
Flower Color: White, Pink
Exposure: Full Sun to Part Shade
Soil Requirements: Fast Draining; Slightly Acidic.
Water Needs: Low; Deep Moisture.
Attributes:   Insects Attracted to Flowers Including Native Bees; Birds Attracted to Fruits; Hosts Butterflies & Moths; Nectar Source.
Firewise: YES; One of the Few Manzanitas That Are Fire-Resistant.
Note:  Slow Growing;  Tolerates Very Cold Temperatures.
Uses:  Hedges; Bird & Hummingbird Gardens; Bee Gardens; Erosion Control.
Native to: Sierra Nevadas/North Coast Range California/Oregon/Washington; Parts of Arizona/Colorado.
Oregon Native:   YES
USDA Hardiness Zone:  5b – 9b

Article by: Viki Ashford, AGC Member, Master Gardener

Photo courtesy of Pat Breen, Oregon State University

Firewise Plant: Arctostaphylos uva-ursi ‘Point Reyes’

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Plant Name:  Arctostaphylos uva-ursi ‘Point Reyes’
Common name:  Point Reyes Bearberry Manzanita
Plant type: Groundcover
Height: 12” – 18”
Spread: 1’ – 6’
Bloom Time:  Winter – Spring
Flower Color: Pink
Exposure: Sun to Part Shade
Soil Requirements: Well Draining; Tolerant of Most Soil Types.
Water Needs: Low to Moderate
Attributes:  Insects & Hummingbirds Attracted to Flowers; Fruit & Seed Eating Birds Attracted to Fruit ; Deer Resistant.
Firewise:  YES; Zone 5 – Plant 60’+ from House.
Note:  Prune in Early Spring as Needed to Contain Spread.
Uses:  Slope Stabilizer; Bee, Bird, Hummingbird Gardens; Lawn Substitute.
Native to: Alaska to Canada to Western United States
Oregon Native:   YES

USDA Hardiness Zone:  6 – 10

 

 

Article by Viki Ashford, AGC Member & Master Gardener

 

Photos by OSU https://landscapeplants.oregonstate.edu/plants/arctostaphylos-uva-ursi-point-reyes

Firewise Plant: Prairie Coneflower

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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

Oregon Native: Pacific Wax Myrtle

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Botanical Name: Morella californica
Common Name: Pacific Wax Myrtle
Bayberry–Family  Myricaceae


Plant Type: Broad leaf Evergreen
Water use: Moderate -High
Growth: moderate rate to 10-30 feet (3-10m) tall and wide
Habitat:Usually occurs in wetlands but occasionally occurs in non-wetlands.
Characters: The leaves of Pacific Wax Myrtle are a bright, glossy green with black dots, pleasantly aromatic, pointed at the tip, with occasional teeth along the margins.  The flowers are tiny, but the fruit is attractive in clusters of dark purple, bumpy berries.
Native Plant: Yes 
Firewise: Yes
Attributes: The leaves of Myrica californica have a spicy aroma that can be used like bay leaves to season food, hence the plant is often referred to as California Bayberry.
Uses In the Landscape: The Pacific Wax Myrtle is our best native shrub for screening.  Several can be trimmed into a hedge or it can be mixed with other evergreens to create an informal screen.  Wax Myrtle also is able to fix-nitrogen in association with the bacteria, making this shrub especially useful for habitat restoration in soils with low fertility
Bloom Period:  May-June.
Fruit ripens November. Used by Wildlife:The fruit is eaten by many kinds of birds, most notably the “Myrtle” (Yellow-rumped) Warbler, but only in small quantities.
Use by People: Although Pacific Wax Myrtle is related to the Northern Bayberry, attempts at boiling the fruit to extract wax produces so little, to make it hardly worthwhile. A gray-brown or maroon-purple dye may be obtained from the berries.  Although the wood is reported to be heavy, very hard, strong, brittle and close-grained, this species is different than the Oregon Myrtlewood, Umbellularia californica, (AKA California Bay Laurel) used for artistic endeavors found in gift shops all along the Oregon coast.

Propagation:  Seeds collected in fall should be abraded or soaked in warm water to remove the waxy coating; they then require 3 months stratification at 40ºF (4ºC).  Heel cuttings of half-ripe wood in July or August reportedly have fair to good success.  Layering in the spring is the quickest method.

Larval Host to:

Banded Hairstreak
(Satyrium calanus)

Photo Credit: Megan McCarty, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Red-banded Hairstreak
(Calycopis cecrops)

Photo Credit: John Flannery from Richmond County, North Carolina, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

http://nativeplantspnw.com/pacific-wax-myrtle-morella-californica/

Report provided by: Lynn Kunstman, Jackson County, Oregon Master Gardener and Wildlife Management

Posted by: Carlotta Lucas, AGC Board Member