Tag Archives: NW Native Plant

Native Shrubs for Southern Oregon

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RED-FLOWERING CURRANT, (BLOOD CURRANT)

Ribes sanguineum Purch

Mid-height deciduous shrub, 3–9-feet with many upright stems from the base. Gray-green leaves. Blooms emerge before foliage with pendant red/pink flower clusters bloom in late winter. Shrub produces blue/black berries with waxy bloom in the summer.

This plant is a rapid grower and is drought tolerant. There is a selection of varieties flowering currants available in shades of red, pink, and white.

Habitat: Dry open woods, Forest edge, Slopes

Flowers attract hummingbirds, Berries attract birds.

PACIFIC, OR WESTERN, NINEBARK

Physocarpus capitatus (Pursh) Kuntze

Mid-height, multi-stemmed deciduous shrub to 8′-10’. Leaves resemble a maple tree leaves. Produces small white flowers in dense 2–3″ clusters in late spring. Plant turns a rose-brown color in the fall. Older stems have shredding bark.

Habitat: Best used in moist locations, along creeks & streams.

Ninebark Varieties:

Summer Wine – Bright red leaves when emerging, turning dark purple. Upright arching branches. Height 5.5 feet, same width. Exposure: Sun, part shade. USDA Hardiness Zone 2

Little Devil – Red stems with green and Red glossy leaves – Height 3.5 feet, same width. Exposure: Sun, part shade. USDA Hardiness Zone 2

Diablo : Dusky dark purple leaves turn red in autumn. Upright and arching shape. Height 8-10 ft, same width. Exposure: sun, part shade. USDA Hardiness Zone 2

Dart Gold: Bright gold new leaves, sometimes tinged with red. Chartreuse color in the shadowed center of the plant. Grows in an upright fountain shape. Grows to 5-ft , same width. Exposure: part shade. USDA Hardiness Zone 2

Amer Jubilee: New leaves are a glowing orange and gold, with touches of purple. Growth is upright rounded shape. Height 5.5ft, Width 4 to 5 feet. Exposure: Sun, part shade. USDA Hardiness Zone 2

by Carlotta Lucas, AGC Member

Western Wild Ginger

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Plant Name:  Asarum caudatum
Common name:  Western Wild Ginger
Plant Type:  Herbaceous Perennial
Plant Height:  .25’ – .5’
Plant Width:  .5’ – 1.5’
Bloom Time: April – June
Flower Color: Purplish Brown
Exposure:  Part Shade to Full Shade
Soil Requirements: Well Drained, Wet Soil.
Water Need:  Medium to Wet
Attributes: Deer Resistant; Tolerates Heavy Shade with Wet Soil; Attracts Butterflies; Larval Host.
Uses: Ground Cover; Rain Garden; Edging.
Note:  Spreads by Rhizomes; Blooms are near the Ground, Hidden by Foliage; May Harbor Slugs & Snails.
Native to:  British Columbia & Western States
Oregon Native:  YES
USDA Hardiness Zone: 7 – 10

Article by: Viki Ashford

Photo Credit: (Wikipedia) Walter Siegmund, CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>

Oregon Native: Blackcap Raspberry

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Plant Name:  Rubus leucodermis
Common name: Whitebark Raspberry or Blackcap Raspberry
Plant Type:  Deciduous Shrub-Vine, Arching or Trailing
Plant Height: 1’ – 6.6’
Spread: 3’
Bloom Time: Spring; Fruit Ripens July – Aug
Flower Color: White
Exposure: Sun to Part Shade
Soil Requirements:  Tolerant of Sand, Loam, & Clay.
Water Needs:  Moderate to High
Attributes: Host to some Butterflies & Moths.
Note: Thorny Shoots; Crown is Perennial, Canes are Biennal; First Year Stems (Primocanes) are non-flowering; Flowers form on 2ne Year Lateral Stems (Floricanes).
Uses: Bird Gardens; Fruit Gardens.
Native to:  Western North America
Oregon Native: YES
USDA Hardiness Zone: To Zone 5

Report by: Viki Ashford, AGC Member, Master Gardener

Photo by: Aleazrocha / Public domain https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rubusleucodermis2.jpg

Oregon Native: Tufted Hairgrass

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Plant Name:  Deschampsia cespitosa
Common name:  Tufted Hairgrass
Plant Type:  Ornamental Grass
Plant Height:  2’ – 3’
Spread:  1’ – 2’
Bloom Time: July – September
Flower Color:  Tones of Gold, Silver, Purple, Green
Exposure:  Part Shade
Soil Requirements: Average, Medium, Moist, Well-Drained Soil;
Water Needs: Medium
Attributes:  Showy Flowers; Attracts Birds; Winter Interest; Airy Panicles of Variably-Color form a cloud that is attractive when backlit; Deer Resistant.
Note:  Cut Foliage to Ground in Late Winter
Uses: Ground Cover; Rock Gardens; Mixes well with Shade Loving Perennials; Butterfly Gardens, Woodland Gardens.
Native to:  Most of North America
Oregon Native:   YES
USDA Hardiness Zone:  4 – 9

Report by: Viki Ashford

Native plant: Veratrum californicum

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White false hellebore (Veratrum californicum) can be identified from the similar green false hellebore (Veratrum viride) by its spreading to ascending panicle branches and white flowers. The latter species has drooping panicle branches in the inflorescence and creamy green flowers. White-false hellebore can be found in vernally moist meadows in the mountains across central and eastern Oregon as well as in lower elevation meadows west of the Cascades and along the Pacific coast.

Common Name: Corn Lily
Water Use: High
Light Requirement: Sun to semi- shade, will not tolerate full shade
Moisture: Moist – Wet
Soil: Loam (medium); Clay (heavy); Sandy (light) if it stays wet.
Attributes: Bold showy plant; White flowers on tall stocks
Note: Cut back when leaves turn brown
Uses:  Native Gardens; Wetlands; Wildflower; Woodland;
Native: Western North America (elevations 3,500ft – 11,000 ft)

Warning: Veratrum californicum has poisonous leaves and roots. The roots are 5 to 10 times as poisonous as leaves or stem, so take special care when handling. Veratrum califoricum causes severe birth defects and death in sheep and in various rodent species.  There are also incidents of llamas, alpacas, goats and cows being affected. Deer and gophers do not bother this plant.

Veratrum californicum Photo by: Klamath Siskiyou Seeds

Article by: Lucretia Weems and Carlotta Lucas

Madrona Trees

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‘Tis tmadrone-drawinghe Season for Madrona

Stand in a clump of Pacific madrone or madrona trees during a winter storm, the trunks wet and luscious, creamy green and burnished red, and feast on the beauty. Children pull off the beckoning curly bark strips and stroke the underlying pale green bark, smooth and soothing. Mature trees can support many bark colors and textures: the older rough brown-gray squares, dark weathered curlicues, strips of fresh reds, and the young green underbark. The Klamath Indians tell a beautiful story about Madrone Girl, who lured her lover the North Wind back from the embraces of another native tree girl, Chinquapin, by scrubbing her skin pure and new in the Klamath River. She sang a love song while standing proud and gorgeous from a mountaintop; North Wind immediately returned. It has since become a tradition, this sloughing off of flecks and puzzle pieces of bark during the summer, decorating the forest floor.

The first Euro-American explorer and naturalist to describe madrone was Dr. Archibald Menzies who explored the Puget Sound with Captain Vancouver in 1792. The scientific name, Arbutus menziesii, commemorates Dr. Menzies.  In his journal he aptly described the species:

“a peculiar ornament to the Forest by its large clusters of whitish flowers & ever green leaves but its peculiar smooth bark of a reddish brown colour will at times attract the Notice of the most superficial observer”.

While a common understory tree in lower-elevation forests in Southwest Oregon, each mardone-berriesmadrone tree sports a different wondrous shape from multi-stem octopus trees that have re-sprouted after a fire to grand “girthy” older beauties.  The leaves are sclerophyllous – thick and sturdy broadleaf leaves that conserve water during hot summers. Second year leaves drop off during the summer, adding yellows to the bark chip forest floor, while younger leaves provide a canopy of green light all year-round. The leaves also provide a holiday-style contrast to the red pitted berries that droop from branches in the fall.

Local indigenous people, like the Takelma, harvest the berries. Band-tailed Pigeons, American Robins, and many other critters eat them, dispersing the seeds to feed future generations. Little kids and crafters make necklaces of dried madrone berries. Like other plants in the heath family, such as manazanita, the sweet urn-shaped flowers bloom in the spring and are visited by bumble bees.

Madrona feeds all of us – poets, dreamers, explorers, birds, and bees.

Author: Kristi Mergenthaller, Stewardship Directory Southern Oregon Land Conservancy
Article from Southern Oregon Land Conservancy Newsletter- Winter 2016

 

Posted by: Carlotta Lucas – Ashland Garden Club