Tag Archives: Oregon Native Plants

Firewise Plant: Blanket Flower (Gaillardia)

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Plant Name:  Gaillardia varieties
Common name:  Blanket Flower
Plant Type:  Perennial
Plant Height:  8” – 36”
Plant Width:  12” – 24”
Bloom Time:  June – September
Flower Color:  Red, Gold, Burgundy
Exposure: Full Sun
Soil Requirements: Well-Drained
Water Needs: Low
Fire Resistant:  YES; Zone 1-8, Plant 30’+ from House.
Attributes: Drought Tolerant; Deer Resistant; Attracts Birds & Butterflies; Other Pollinators.
Uses:  Good Cut Flower; Container Plant; Borders; Butterfly Gardens;
Note: Deadhead for Continuous Bloom; Keep Some Seed Heads for Birds; Cutting Back Clumps in Late Summer Increases Chance of Winter Survival; Divide Clumps Every 2 – 3 Years in Spring or Early Fall for Plant Vigor; Susceptible to Powdery Mildew, Leafspot, & Leafhoppers.
Native to: Western North America
Oregon Native:  YES
USDA Hardiness Zone:  3 – 10

Report by: Viki Ashford, AGC Member/Master Gardener

Photo credit: Lazaregagnidze, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Firewise Plant: Lupine

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Plant Name: Lupinus varieties

Common name:  Lupine

Plant Type: Perennial

Plant Height: 18” – 48”

Plant Width:  24” – 26”

Bloom Time: May – July

Flower Color:  Multiple Colors Including Blue, Yellow, Pink, White

Exposure: Full Sun

Soil Requirements: Adaptable to Soils of Slow to Fast Drainage.

Water Needs: Moderate to High.

Fire Resistant:  YES; Zone 1 – Plant 30+ feet From Structure.

Attributes: Showy Flowers; Deer Resistant; Nitrogen Fixer.

Uses: Back of the Border; Bee, Bird, Butterfly Gardens; Good Cut Flower; Perennial Border; Cottage Garden.

Note: May Need Staking;; Deadhead to Encourage Additional Flowering; Powdery Mildew & Aphids May be Troublesome; Slugs & Snails May Attack New Plants.

Native to: Western North America

Oregon Native:  YES

 USDA Hardiness Zone:  4 – 6

Report by: Viki Ashford, AGC Member/Master Gardener

Photo by: Carlotta Lucas, AGC Member

Firewise Plant: Lonicera ciliosa

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Plant Name: Lonicera ciliosa

Common names:  Western Trumpet Honeysuckle, Orange Honeysuckle, Climbing Honeysuckle

Plant Type: Twining vine, twigs hollow

Plant Height: 10-30 ft

Plant Width:  10-inch +

Bloom Time: Late Spring

Flower Color:  Orange/Red

Exposure: Full Sun to Part Shade

Soil Requirements: Organically Rich, Well-Drained, Moist Soil.

Water Needs: Moderate

Fire Resistant:  YES; Zone 1 – Plant 30’+ From Structure.

Attributes: Not Fragrant; Pollinated by the Rufous Hummingbird, Attracts Hummingbirds; Orange-Red Berries Attractive to Wildlife. Native range: British Columbia South to California, East to Montana and Utah.

Uses: Covering Fence or Trellis.

Note: Prone to Aphids, Powdery Mildew

Oregon Native or Naturalized in Oregon:  Yes

 USDA Hardiness Zone:  5

Resource: https://landscapeplants.oregonstate.edu/plants/lonicera-ciliosa

Horticulture Report: Columbine

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 Plant Name:  Aquilegia species

Common name:  Columbine

Plant Type:  Perennial

Plant Height:  10” – 36”

Plant Width:  10” – 12”

Bloom Time: May – July

Flower Color: Multicolor

Exposure: Full Sun to Partial Shade

Soil Requirements: Clay, Loam, Sand

Water Needs:  Average

Fire Resistant: YES; Zone 8 = Plant 30’+ from house. 

Attributes: Good Cut Flower; Showy; Deer Resistant; Attracts Bees, Butterflies, Hummingbirds; Many Colorful Hybrid Varieties.

Uses: Borders; Containers; Rock Gardens; Cottage Gardens; Native Gardens.

Note:  Remove spent flowers to prolong blooming; Self-seeds Prolifically; Prone to Powdery Mildew & Leaf Miners.

Native to: Northern Hemisphere

Oregon Native:  YES

 USDA Hardiness Zone: 3 – 9

Columbines

Report by: Viki Ashford, AGC Board Member

Photos by: Carlotta Lucas, AGC Board Member

Horticulture Report: Chives

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Plant Name:  Allium schoenoprasum

Common name:  Chives

Plant Type:  Perennial Bulb

Plant Height:  1’ – 1.5’

Plant Width:  1’ – 1.5’

Bloom Time: June – August

Flower Color: Pale Purple

Exposure: Full Sun to Part Shade.

Soil Requirements: Average, Medium, Well-Drained.

Water Needs:  Medium

Fire Resistant: YES – Zone 1 – Plant 10’+ from house.

Attributes:  Showy Flower with Fragrant Leaves; Deer/Drought Tolerant; Attracts Butterflies, Bees, Pollinators; Consistent performer

Uses: Herb; Herb/Vegetable Gardens; Rock Gardens; Containers.

Note:  Self seeds unless spent flowers are deadheaded; Harvest Leaves by clipping at base of plant; Root Rot may occur in poorly drained soil. 

Native to: Temperate Northern Hemisphere

Oregon Native:   YES

 USDA Hardiness Zone: 4 – 8

Chives

Report by: Viki Ashford, AGC Board Member

Photo by: Carlotta Lucas, AGC Board Member

Today in the Garden

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Madia elegans:  Elegant tar weed.  This is blooming right now.  It is a sun-loving native annual that self-sows widely.  Drought and deer tolerant.  Blooms morning and evening, but closes up during the middle of the day.  See the bumble bee getting pollen off the flowers.  The plant is about 3′ high and 1 1/2′ high.  

Madia elegans:  Elegant tar weed

Epilobium canum, or California Fuchsia.  It used to be called Zauschneria californica.  It is a later blooming perennial.  It is drought and deer resistant.  This one is right near an alley and a driveway, and is fine with hot, dry soil.  Hummingbirds love it.  I plant it with dark blue Bachelors’ Buttons, annuals which seed around.

Epilobium canum: California Fuchsia

Gaillardia , or Blanket Flower.  It is a long-blooming perennial with interesting round seed heads.  If  some of the seed heads are left on, it will self-sow.  This particular plant is probably a hybrid, called Gaillardia x grandlora ‘Goblin’, which is a more compact cultivar.  The native is Gaillardia aristata.  It is drought tolerant and deer resistant.

Gaillardia: Blanket Flower

Praying Mantis on Verbena, previously seen eating a bee from the head down.  After crawling up on this bloom, she crawled down on the stem and basically disappeared, lurking until another insect came along.

Praying Mantis on Verbena

Photos and article by Sherri Morgan, AGC Vice President