Tag Archives: Drought Tolerant

Native & Fire-wise: Curl Leaf Mountain Mahogany

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Plant Name: Cercocarpas ledifolius

Common name: Curl Leaf Mountain Mahogany

Plant type: Densely Branching Evergreen Shrub or Tree

Height: 7’ – 33’

Spread:  5’ – 10’
Bloom Time:  December – April

Flower Color:  Cream, White, Yellow

Exposure:  Full Sun to Part Shade

Soil Requirements:  Medium to Fast Soil Drainage; Rocky Soil.

Water Needs:  Low to Very Low; Drought Adapted.

Attributes:  Spicy Aroma; White Bark; Leaves Green on Top & Silvery Underneath; short, spiral, silver-haired seed plumes are eye-catching; Attracts Butterflies & Birds.

Note: Nitrogen Fixing; Resistant to Disease & Insects.

Uses: Hedge; Rock Garden; Erosion Control.

Fire-wise: YES

Native To:  Sierra Nevada, Cascades, Montana, Colorado

Oregon Native: YES

USDA Hardiness Zone:  5b – 9a

Article by: Viki Ashford, AGC Member

Photo Credit: https://landscapeplants.oregonstate.edu/plants/cercocarpus-ledifolius

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

Horticulture Report: Arbutus menziesii (Pacific madrone)

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        Oregon State University

Oregon Native & Firewise Plant   
Plant Name:  Arbutus menziesii
Common name: Pacific madrone
Plant type: Broadleaf Evergreen Tree
Height: 20’ – 65’
Spread:   5’ – 25’
Bloom Time:  Flowers in Spring; Berries in Fall
Flower Color: White
Exposure: Shade to Partial Shade; North Facing Slope

Walter Siegmund, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Soil Requirements: Fast to Medium Drainage; Tolerates Heavy Soil
Water Needs: Dry to Medium
Attributes:  Peeling Bark; Red Berries; Robins, Starlings, Band-tailed Pigeons Feed on Berries; Supports Bats, Butterflies, Caterpillars,                           Moths; Host to Brown Elfin Butterfly; Nectar for Hummingbirds; Winter Interest; Drought Tolerant
Note:  Slow Growing; Large Tree; Messy in the Garden due to Bark & Leaf Shedding; Pests are Phytophthora ramorum (Sudden Oak Death), Madrone Canker, Aphids, Leaf Miners
Uses:  Bank Stabilization; Hedge; Bird Gardens; Mixed Borders
Firewise:  YES
Native to: Pacific Northwest & California
Oregon Native: YES
USDA Hardiness Zone: 7 – 9

Report by: Viki Ashford, AGC Member

Oregon Native & Firewise Plant: Narrowleaf Milkweed

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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

Report by: Viki Ashford, AGC Member

Photo Credit: Eric Hunt, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Horticulture Report: Indian Hemp Dogbane

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Native Firewise Plant-

Plant Name:  Apocynum cannabinum

Common name: Indian Hemp Dogbane

Plant type: Herbaceous Perennial

Height: 3’ – 7’

Spread:   1.5’ – 2.5’
Bloom Time:  July – August

Flower Color:  Cream/White
Exposure: Sun to Partial Shade

Soil Requirements: Moist Sandy to Gravelly

Water Needs: Low to Moderate

Attributes:  Pollinated by Bees, Bumblebees, Butterflies, Flies, Beetles, Wasps, & Moths; Flowers are Hermaphrodite; Supports Bats, Butterflies, Caterpillars; Drought Tolerant

Note: All parts of the plant are Poisonous; it Contains a milky latex which may cause Skin Blisters; Invasive via spreading roots;

Uses:  Rain Gardens; Woodland Gardens; Butterfly Garden; Native Plant Garden; Erosion Control

Native to: NE United States & Canada

Oregon Native: YES

USDA Hardiness Zone: 4 – 9

Report by: Viki Ashford, AGC Member

Photo Credit: Thayne Tuason, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia

Horticulture Report: Allium acuminatum

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Plant Name: Allium acuminatum
Common Name:  Hooker’s onion
Plant type : Deciduous Perennial Herb
Height: 0’ – 2’
Spread: 0’ – 1’
Bloom Time: May – July
Flower Color: Purple, White, Pin
Exposure: Sun to Part Shade
Soil Requirements: Dry, well-drained; sandy/loamy
Water Needs: Occasional Summer Water
Attributes: Bulblets reproduce easily; strong onion smell; deer resistant; attracts pollinators: bats, butterflies, birds; nectar source for butterflies
Note: Flowers appear on long stalks after leaves have died; goes dormant in summer after going to seed
Uses: Rock Garden; Dry Open Meadows; Habitat Restoration; Green Roof
Native to:  Western United States
Oregon Native: YES
USDA Hardiness Zone 5 – 9