Tag Archives: Butterfly Host Plants

Pacific Wildflower

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On our hike yesterday we saw one of our favorite wildflowers, a Pacific Hounds Tongue, it is an old herbal I first heard of in Tasha Tudor literature. It is a Borage Family member and has a pretty little ‘forget me not” flower.”   ~Joanie Kintscher, AGC President

Pacific Hounds Tongue (Adelinia grande) is an early-blooming native perennial plant that prefers to grow in light dappled shade. Hound’s tongue is commonly found growing beneath Oregon white oak (Quercus garryana). It attracts native bees and hummingbirds and is an occasional larval host plant for moths and butterflies.

Western Orange Trumpet Honeysuckle

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Plant Name:  Lonicera ciliosa
Common name:  Western Orange Trumpet Honeysuckle
Plant Type:  Deciduous Vine
Plant Height:  10’ – 30’
Spread: 30’
Bloom Time: Late Spring
Flower Color:  Orange Red Yellow; Orange-Red Berries
Exposure: Sun to Partial Shade
Soil Requirements:  Moist with Medium Drainage, not dry.
Water Needs: Regular
Attributes:  Hosts Butterflies & Moths, The orange-red berries are eaten by a variety of birds including robins, juncos, flickers, and finches; although not a favorite.
Note:  Check curled leaves for aphids & spray undersides with water.
Uses:  Trellis,  Hedge, Bird Garden, Host Gardens, Native Gardens
Native to:  British Columbia to California (west of Cascades)
Oregon Native: YES
USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a-9b

Report submitted by: Viki Ashford

Horticulture Report: Coffeeberry

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Plant Name: Rhamnus californica ‘Eve Case’
Common name: Coffeeberry
Plant type: Evergreen Shrub
Height: 6’ – 8’
Spread: 6’ – 8’
Bloom Time: Spring
Flower Color: Greenish White
Exposure: Sun or Shade
Soil Requirements: Will grow in most soils
Water Needs: Low Water Needs; Drought Tolerant
Attributes: It has dark green leaves on reddish stems. After flowering, berries follow that are first green then red and finally black when ripe. Fast growing shrub. Fairly deer resistant.
Note: High summer heat may cause fronds to brown by mid to late summer, particularly if good soil moisture is not maintained and/or plants are grown in too much sun.
Uses: Attracts Pollinators; Larval food source for Swallowtail Butterfly
Native to: North America
Oregon Native: NO- Native to California
USDA Hardiness Zone: 6-10

Report by: Viki Ashford

Photo /upload.wikimedia.org: Taken by Brofri [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)]

Growing Milkweed

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I found a foolproof way to grow milkweed starts from seed.  Last year I had a 100% yield

20160618_160355

Oregon Native Milkweed – John Day, Oregon

on 3 different kinds of milkweed. (Seedlings are pictured on the second page of newsletter)

Click to download newsletter with instructions: Starting_Milkweed_RockbirdGardens

For anyone interested, I’ll be giving a presentation at the offices of the Pollinator Project in Phoenix, Oregon, on March 10th. “Planning and Growing a Butterfly Garden” 

Best regards,
Robin McKenzie
Rockbird Gardens

June 4, 2017: Today In the Garden

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AGC member Carlotta Lucas’ garden.

Enticing Pollinators

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Below are a few plants that can entice pollinators to your garden. This plant list can go on and on, but remember your not just planting for honey bees, pollinators include other kinds of bees, birds, butterflies, moths, beetles, and even ants.

Your garden should have a succession of flowering plants to provide blooms throughout the entire growing season. There should be several different species blooming all the time, so to accomplish this goal plant a combination of annuals and perennials. And Finally,  your garden MUST BE pesticide free
Annuals:
Zinnias, Sunflowers, Marigolds, Calendula (pot marigold)
Shrubs:
Red-flowering Current, Ceanothus thyrsiflorus (Blueblossom), Ocean Spray, Serviceberry, Rhododendrons, Kolkwitzia amabilis (Beauty Bush).
Perennials/Herbs:
Catmints, Lavenders, Asters, Phlox, Bee Balm, Thyme, Borage, Oregano, Garlic Chives, Evening Primrose, Asclepias tuberosa (Butterflyweed), Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’, Goldenrod, Podophyllum (Mayapple)
Salvias (to name a few): Russian Sage, ‘Hot Lips’, ‘Desert Blaze’, Blue Sage, Raspberry Delight, ‘Lady in Red’, Pineapple Sage, Clary Sage, Salvia pachyphylla Note: Deer do not like salvias!