Tag Archives: Pollinator gardens

Firewise Plant: Red-Hot Pokers

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Plant Name: Kniphofia uvaria

Common name:  Torch Lily or Red-Hot Poker

Plant Type: Perennial

Plant Height: 1’ – 4’

Plant Width:  2’ – 3’

Bloom Time: June – August

Flower Color:  Multi Color:  Orange/Yellow/White/Green

Exposure: Full Sun

Soil Requirements: Good Drainage; Sandy Soil; Favors Bog & Marsh Land.

Water Needs: Heavy in Spring & Summer.

Fire Resistant:  YES:  Zone 1 – Plant 10+ feet from Structure.

Attributes: Deer Tolerant; Attracts Butterflies, Hummingbirds, Pollinators; Cut Flower.

Uses: Border, Foundation, Container, Rock Garden.

Note:  Spreads by Rhizomes

Native to: South Africa

Oregon Native:  NO

USDA Hardiness Zone:  4 – 9

Firewise Plant: Blue Flax

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Plant Name: Linum perenne

Common name:  Blue Flax

Plant Type: Herbaceous Perennial Wildflower

Plant Height: 12” – 20”

Plant Width:  12” – 14”

Bloom Time: May – June

Flower Color:  Light Blue or White

Exposure: Full Sun to Part Shade.

Soil Requirements: Well-Drained; Loamy or Sandy.

Water Needs: Medium

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

Attributes: Showy Flowers; Drought Tolerant; Deer Resistant.

Uses: Mass Plantings; Meadows; Rock Gardens; Border Fronts.

Note: Self-sows; Remove Spent Blossoms for Longer Blooming; Flowers Open for Only One Day.

Native to: Asia, Europe

Oregon Native:  NO

Submit by: Viki Ashford

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