Tag Archives: Plants for Wildlife

Fire-wise Native Plant: Green Rabbitbrush

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Plant Name: Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus

Common names: Green Rabbitbrush, Yellow Rabbitbush

Plant type: Evergreen to Deciduous Shrub

Height: 1’ – 4’

Spread: 3’

Bloom Time: August – October

Flower Color: Yellow

Exposure: Sun

Soil Requirements: Dry, Well-Drained, Medium to Coarse Textured Soil

Water Needs: Low

 

Attributes: Adapted to Drought; Larval Host and Nectar Source to Sagebrush Checkerspot; Attracts Native Bees & Butterflies; Provides Cover & Nesting Habitat for Birds & Rodents

 

Note: susceptible to infestations of the larvae of hairy yellow-marked buprestid (Acamaeodera pulchella) which bore tunnels through the stems resulting in plant death

 

Uses: Rapidly establishes in disturbed open sites, including burned sites, rockslides, flood washes.  A valuable shrub for re-vegetating damaged land, such as overgrazed rangeland and abandoned mining areas.

 

Firewise: YES

Native To: British Columbia to Southeastern CA East to North Dakota to Texas

Oregon Native: YES

USDA Hardiness Zone: 5b – 8b

 

 

Report by: Viki Ashford & Carlotta Lucas, AGC Members

Sagebrush Checkerspot  photo by: Scott Paige, Pacific Southwest Region U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Fire-wise & Native Plant: Red Osier Dogwood

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Plant Name: Cornus sericea
Common name: Red Osier Dogwood, Red Twig Dogwood
Plant type: Deciduous, Multi-Stem Shrub
Height: 6’ -9’
Spread: 7’ – 10’
Bloom Time: May, June
Flower Color: White
Exposure: Full Sun to Part Shade

Soil Requirements: Organically Rich
Water Needs: Medium to Wet
Attributes: Showy Flower; Good Fall Color; Winter Interest; Tolerates Deer; Clay & Wet Soil; Birds Attracted to White Fruits (Drupes); Attracts Waterfowl, Marsh & Shorebirds; Larval Host for Butterflies; Flowers Fragrant; Attracts Bees.

Note: Remove 20-25% of the oldest stems in early spring of each year to stimulate growth of new stems which will display the best color. Can be suckering; Susceptible to Leaf & Twig Blight, Powdery Mildew, Canker & Leaf Spot; Occasional Pests are Scale & Leaf Miners.

Uses: Hedge, Rain Garden; Wet Habitats; Pollinator Garden
Firewise: YES
Native To: North America except Deep South
Oregon Native: YES
USDA Hardiness Zone: 2a – 7b

 

Report by Viki Ashford & Carlotta Lucas, AGC Members

Photos by: Matt Lavin – Wikmedia Commons  https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cornus_sericea_-_red_osier_dogwood_-_53024871939.jpg

Backyard Birds: Chestnut-backed Chickadee

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Chestnut-backed Chickadees:  These birds frequent backyard bird feeders regularly where they eat black oil sunflower seed, hulled sunflowers seeds, suet, nyjar seeds and some fruit, but 65% of their diet is made up of insects and other arthropods, including aphids, caterpillars, spiders, leafhoppers, tiny scale insects and wasps. Chestnut-back Chickadees are found up and down the West Coast and in the Pacific Northwest. Their habitat is dense wet coniferous forests of Douglas firs, Monterey pine, Ponderosa pine, Sugar pines, White firs, Incense-cedar and Redwoods. But, while these social noisy little birds prefer dark wet forests they have moved into cities where they utilize stands of willows and alder trees along streams, madrone trees, shrubbery along the edges of oak woodlands and ornamental shrubs in parks and gardens.

Photo by Kathy Munsel, ODFW https://myodfw.com/wildlife-viewing/species/chickadees-and-nuthatches

Article by: Carlotta Lucas, AGC Member

Firewise Plant: Penstemons

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Plant Name:  Penstemon species
Common name:  Penstemon or Beardtongue
Plant Type:  Perennial
Plant Height: 4” – 48”
Plant Width:  6” – 36”
Bloom Time: June – August
Flower Color:  Pink, Purple, Blue, Red, White
Exposure:  Full Sun
Soil Requirements: Fast Draining; Gravelly/Sandy;
Water Needs: Deep, but Infrequent Watering
Fire Resistant:  YES:  Zone 1 – Plant 30’+ from Structure
Attributes: Nectar-Rich Flowers for Pollinators;
Uses: Rock Garden; Cottage Gardens; Borders; Pollinator Gardens; Wildlife Habitat Gardens; Native plant areas; Perennial gardens. 
Note: Leave Some Seeds to Ripen When Deadheading;
Native to: Continental US
Oregon Native:   YES
USDA Hardiness Zone:  3 – 8

Report by: Viki Ashford AGC Member & Master Gardener

Photo by: JerryFriedman, CC BY-SA 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/, via Wikimedia Commons

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