Tag Archives: plants for butterflies

Oregon Native Plant: Ribes nevadense

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Plant Name:  Ribes nevadense
Common name:  Sierra Flowering Currant/Mountain Pink Currant
Plant Type:  Deciduous Multi-Stem Shrub
Plant Height: 3’ – 6’
Spread: 3’
Bloom Time: Late Spring
Flower Color: Soft Pink
Exposure: Sun to Light Shade
Soil Requirements: Tolerates variety of soil with good drainage.
Water Needs: Can tolerate moderate drought, but prefers consistent moisture.
Attributes:  Attracts Bees, Other Insects, Hummingbirds; Host for Butterflies & Moths; Fragrant Flowers.
Uses: Bee, Bird, and Butterfly Gardens; Native Gardens.
Note: The fruit is an edible bluish-black berry, somewhat waxy and studded with glandular hairs. Always get professional advice before consuming wild edibles; in the wild this berry can be confused with poisonous berries in the area. 

Native to:  California, Nevada, Oregon
Oregon Native:  YES
USDA Hardiness Zone:  5 – 8

 

Report by: Viki Ashford, AGC Member & Master Gardener

Photo from:https://www.sevenoaksnativenursery.com/

Random Gardening Tips

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Sweet Williams

To Attract Butterflies:  Plant these in your garden – Asters, Buddleja, Sweet William, Mexican Sunflower ((Tithonia rotundifolia), Milkweed, & Pipevine.

 

Tomato Tip: Help tomatoes pollinate by flicking each bloom with a fingernail during the driest part of the day, two or three times per week.  Shake big plants to spread their sticky pollen.

SALVIA guaranitica

Deer Problems: Are critters causing trouble in your garden?  Try deer-and rabbit-resistant perennial flowers including, agastache, artemisia, lavender, monarda, ornamental oregano, Russian sage, salvia, & yarrow.

 

 Iris Care: In the spring when tulips are blooming in your    neighborhood apply a light application of low-nitrogen fertilizers (6-10-10). Apply a second light application about a month after bloom; this will reward you with good growth and bloom. Avoid using anything high in nitrogen. After tall-bearded irises stop blooming, cut off spent flower stalks to promote new rhizome growth.

Rhododendrons: Immediately after bloom, prune rhododendrons to control size and shape.  Cut each stem back to just above a rosette of leaves.  Most varieties of garden-scale rhododendrons aren’t harmed by hard pruning.

Forget-me-not

Annual Flowers: If you like color & can embrace a little chaos, sow reseeding flowers including:  Blue Honeywort, Forget-me-not, Golden Feverfew, Love-in-a-mist, Sunflower & Sweet Alyssum.  These unfussy, drought-tolerant annuals will cheerily pop up for years to come.

Mulch: Maintaining a 3” layer of organic mulch throughout the garden prevents crusting & cracking of the soil surface, holds in moisture, encourages earthworms, moderates ground temperature, & prevents weeds from germinating.

Potted Plants: Feed potted specimens at least monthly with liquid fertilizer; They need it because increased summer watering washes nutrients out before plants can use them.

Oregon Native: Callirhoe involucrate (Purple Poppy Mallow)

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Plant Name:  Callirhoe involucrate
Common name:  Purple Poppy Mallow
Plant Type:  Herbaceous Perennial
Plant Height:  .5’ – 1’
Spread:  .5’ – 3’
Bloom Time: May – June
Flower Color:  Magenta
Exposure:  Full Sun
Soil Requirements: Dry, Shallow, Rocky
Attributes:  Showy Flower; Drought Tolerant; Nectar for Bees; Attracts Butterflies.
Note:  Grows well from seed & may self-show.  Long tap root makes transplanting difficult.
Uses:  Semi-Evergreen Ground Cover; Rock Gardens; Native Plant Gardens.
Native to:  Central United States
Oregon Native:  YES
USDA Hardiness Zone:  4 – 8

Report by: Viki Ashford

Photo by: Stan Shebs Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Callirhoe_involucrata_group.jpg

Horticulture Report: Calendula Officinalis

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Calendula Officinalis
Common Name: Calendula, Pot marigold
Annual /Perennial herbaceous plants

Calendula is easy to grow by sowing seeds directly into the soil late fall or early spring.  Plant height ranges from 12- 24 inches and at maturity it produces a long secession of yellow and orange flowers from early summer into late fall.

Calendulas are considered annuals, but in USDA zones 8-10, they are categorized as short-lived perennials. When grown in full sun they will often produce flowers well into December; in zone 8 they have been known to flower throughout January, and then start blooming again in earnest by February.   Calendulas vivid orange daisy-like flowers brighten up a garden every day, but on a dark and cloudy day they are indeed a welcomed sight.

Calendula Officinalis has many uses, not only are they a delightful garden and cut flower, but its leaves are very fragrant, and the flowers are edible!  Traditionally, calendula flowers have been used in German, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cooking, a few of their uses include; tea infusions, flavoring stews, soups, and egg dishes, substitution for saffron, and to color butter and cheeses.  Consequently, cooking with calendula developed its common name:  Pot Marigold.  Calendula flowers can be eaten raw too, use them in salads, for decorating baked goods, and as a nifty drink embellishment.  Freeze flowers in water in ice-cube trays, then add cubes to drinks, serving pitchers or punch bowls. It’s best to grow them organically when using for consumption.

For centuries calendula has been used for herbal remedies, and for natural dyes.  Currently, flowers are used commercially worldwide as herbal teas, ointments, tinctures, and oils for homeopathic remedies.  Historically, flowers were once widely used to dye fabrics, producing beautiful yellow, orange and brown colors. Presently, fabric-crafters and artisans still use calendula flowers for its fine natural-dyeing characteristics.

Grow some Calendulas, you will not be disappointed.

USDA Zones: 2 to 11
Water: Medium
Attracts: Butterflies
Tolerate: Rabbit, Black Walnut
Garden uses: Beds, Borders, Cottage gardens, Cutting gardens, Pollinator gardens, Pots/containers

submitted by: Carlotta Lucas

Oregon Native Plant: Eriogonum umbellatum

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Plant Name: Eriogonum umbellatum
Common name:  Sulphur Flower Buckwheat
Plant type: Herbaceous Perennial
Height:  ½’ – 1’
Spread: 1’ – 3’
Bloom Time: May – September
Flower Color:  Cream or Yellow
Exposure: Sun, Part Shade
Soil Requirements:  Gravelly Soil
Water Needs: Low
Attributes:    Leaves are green above and gray-woolly beneath.  Flower clusters occur on 6-9 in. stems. The cream to sulfur-yellow, tubular flowers fade to orange or red.  Flowers are showy & fragrant. Drought- tolerant

Note:   This is an exceedingly variable species with many different varieties & subspecies, and this adds to the difficulties of identification in a complex group of similar western species. Because the species is so variable, it is especially important to choose material from a habitat that matches your site.  Propagate by thickly planting seed; does not transplant well due to long tap root.

Uses:  Attracts butterflies, native bees, & birds. Native Gardens; Rock Gardens; Pollinator gardens; Dry rocky slopes.
Native to:  California, Oregon, Western US & Canada
Oregon Native:  YES
USDA Hardiness Zone:  4 – 8

Find seeds through native seed growers: Klamath-Siskiyou Native Seeds, and  Plant World Seeds

Report by: Viki Ashford,
Photo 1 by: Carlotta Lucas
Photo 2 by: Klamath-Siskiyou Native Seeds

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