Category: Pollinators

Australian Native Plants

Correa – Australian Fuchsia blooms in light shade

Australian native plants are blooming in the garden now. Plants from the “Land Down Under” are unique in form and flower – they are nothing like you will find elsewhere. Australian plants have unique shapes and colors and add interest to our winters when fewer things are blooming. Colorful Aussie Natives are happy California transplants and most are water wise.

Australia’s climate is Mediterranean, similar to central California, dry in summer with mild, wet winters. We are a bit cooler here in the winter. Most of these Aussie natives are hardy to 20 degrees F. They are evergreen and flower from winter through spring bringing a bright spot of color to our winter gardens and tend to be great in terms of low water use.

Grevillea is a large family of plants that range from low growing ‘Coastal Gem’ to shrub like ‘Robyn Gordon’ reaching 5-6′ tall that can reach a spread of up to 10′ wide. They have masses of tubular pink, red, cream and yellow flowers that the hummingbirds love. They are great on banks or hillsides. The shadier places in the garden will benefit from the Australian Fuchsias (Correas) with their hanging bells in shades of cream to red.

Westringia fruticosa ‘Mundi’ or White Flowering Coast Rosemary is a spreading evergreen shrub from Australia. Grows to 1-2′ feet and 4-6′ feet wide. Green to gray-green leaves have white undersides. Small whiteish, lavender flowers bloom from midwinter through spring in colder areas, and all year in milder climates. Needs light, well-drained soil.  

Explore the possibilities!

Westringia fruticosa ‘Mundi’ or White Flowering Coast Rosemary is a shrub with silvery leaves and beautiful flowers.

Correas or Australian Fuchsias are a wonderful collection of plants with flowers ranging from cream through pink and coral; they thrive in morning sun to light shade. They can tolerate full sun with deep soaking and mulching.

‘Robyn Gordon’ Grevillea (not currently in stock, but we are searching for) is a 5-6′ shrub with a 10′ spread sporting spectacular blooms fall through spring. It’s naturally drought tolerant.

Grevillea rosmarinifolia (dwarf form) is a compact shrub that grows about 2′ tall x 3′ wide. Likes sun to part shade and good drainage.

Native Intelligence

California Wild Lilac (Ceanothus sp.) – spring blooms in shades of blue attract pollinators and provide homes for butterfly larvae.

An Occasional Look at Some of Our Hard-Working California Native Plants

What’s so smart about adding California native plants to your landscape? The simple answer is the delightful experience of growing a tree, shrub or perennial that gives back in so many ways. The sight of a flock of Cedar Waxwings feasting on Toyon Berries. Screaming orange California Poppies peppering the roadside. The summer surprise of big pink and purple orchid-like flowers blooming on a desert willow. A cold hummingbird is enjoying a sip of nectar from a February blooming manzanita. After you fall in love with these plants for who they are and what they bring to your garden, you’ll appreciate their good looks and practicality, thriving with whatever nature throws at them – hot, dry summers and cold, sometimes rainy winters. Here’s a focus on small native trees, usually grown with a multi-trunk form:

Western Redbud Cercis occidentalis – Beauty in every season, from the showy pink flowers clinging tightly to bare branches in spring, to the pretty heart-shaped leaves which turn a rich yellow in the fall.

Ray Hartman Ceanothus Ceanothus ‘Ray Hartman’ – Grow this as a single trunk tree, or plant it as a shrub and sculpt it into an attractive, purple-blue flowered evergreen tree.

Desert Willow Chilopsis linearis – Long narrow willow-like leaves belie the water sipping nature of this small tree. Pick one with the flower color you prefer, from pale pink to deeper burgundy, purple or two tones. Enjoy the flowers as much as hummingbirds do.

California Buckeye Aesculus californica – Large palmate leaves graced by showy spikes of white flowers in late spring. Adapted to dry climates by dropping its leaves as early as August, it is nevertheless beautiful when bear with its ghostly pale gray limbs.

Flannel Bush Fremontodendron species – Big, bright yellow flowers bring the wow to this fast-growing, evergreen showstopper.

Wildflowers

Wildflower gardening is natural, easy and rewarding. Like magic, a handful of seeds can transform a little plot of soil into a bouquet of color and texture – and all with minimal effort.
 
In our Valley, it is natural for wildflowers to get started in late fall just as soon as the soil cools. So, following Mother Nature’s lead is the best approach – Fall planting is taking the path of least resistance and greatest success.
But there are a few things to keep in mind to ensure your wildflower garden is the success you want it to be:

Soil Preparation
Of course, in nature wildflowers fend for themselves without soil preparation; but Mother Nature can tolerate a much higher rate of failure than most homeowners. Some minimal soil preparation will go a long way, ensuring your wildflower success, and it does NOT have to be a major project. Just scratch the soil surface down an inch or two, rake it smooth, and distribute the seeds according to the package instructions. This small preparation will help your wildflowers get a good start and protect the seeds from becoming a bird banquet.
TIP: Use a light covering of mulch to protect your wildflower seeds then press the seeds into place by simply walking over the planting areas. For a large space borrow one of our water rollers to simplify the job.
 
Don’t Plant Too Deep
A planting depth of ¼” to ½” is preferred. While wildflower seeds will germinate at greater depths, they will not have the strength to push through the overlying soil.
 
Irrigation
Make sure the seeds stay moist; NOT WET. Avoid overwatering and make sure the location is well-drained to avoid root rot and leaf mold. Wildflowers are very hardy and drought-tolerant; more water than necessary is NOT better; when in doubt, err on the side of under-watering.
 
Patience
Wildflowers are somewhat more weather responsive than domesticated flowers – they will grow when they think it best. Here in our Valley, weather permitting it is possible to get some fall and winter color from your wildflower garden. If the weather runs too cold or wet, they will wait until spring to show up. This delay is NOT a sign of failure; it is how wildflowers have learned to survive.
Wildflowers can be a rewarding, low maintenance gardening project if you keep in mind they are “WILD” flowers and resist the temptation to micro-manage them. Generally, they will prosper best with what might be called benign neglect.

Plant Fall Decor – Start a Crop of Sunflowers

August is surprisingly good time to plant sunflowers from seed. Warm yellow sunflowers popping into bloom set the mood perfectly as days shorten and fall arrives. Make plans now for a seasonal transition.

Many sunflowers planted this past spring have already sprung, their flowers are fading, and seed heads are forming. Thanks to our mild California climate we can enjoy a bumper crop and second harvest by planting sunflowers a second time. Planting sunflowers from seed now will give an abundant crop of bouquet-ready blossoms for the fall table.

The best varieties for fall color are generally the shorter ones and the multi-branching ones. “Autumn Beauty” is a moderate grower with multi-branched habit and color perfectly suitable for the season. Sunflowers are easy to grow in any soil. Water to establish and expect blooms in six to eight weeks.

Spectacular Salvias

Salvia Black and Blue

The salvia family is endless! Salvias add water-wise color & texture. There are ornamental, edible and native members of this expansive family. Salvia display a variety of colors both in flowers and foliage. You can often enjoy wonderful aromas from the leaves as well.

Salvias are sun loving with a few varieties appreciating a shade break in the afternoon.

Many are long blooming, attract hummingbirds and butterflies and require very little care once established.

Favorite Salvias:

  • Salvia greggii – Known as Autumn Sage, this variety is available in a number of flower colors – red, yellow, pink, white and purple. Erect growth to about three feet with medium green foliage. Plant in full sun.
  • Salvia microphylla – This salvia is more leafy and dense than the Salvia greggii. Bright red flowers are borne in 4-6 inch clusters. The plant itself can reach 3-5 feet tall. This salvia is easy to grow and can be cut back almost to the ground if needed without harming the plant. It has a very long bloom season in mild areas. Hummingbirds love it!
  • Salvia leucantha – This variety is commonly known as Mexican Bush Sage. Long velvety purple spikes set with small white flowers crown the top of arching gray-green foliage. Long lasting bloom from summer to the first frost. Makes a good background plant in a border or large planting bed. Cut back in winter if stems have become too woody.
  • Salvia guaranitica – The ‘Black & Blue’ variety is a 3-4′ shrub with spikes of dark blue and black flowers. This is a long bloomer, hardy to 20 or 25 degrees.
  • Salvia elegans – Known as Pineapple Sage requires a bit more water than many of its saliva relatives although still fairly drought tolerant. This is a hummingbird favorite – blooming in late summer to early fall (August to October) when food sources may be less abundant.

Native Salvia Favorites:

  • Salvia apiana – White Sage is much loved for its distinctive foliage.
  • Salvia clevelandii – Fast growing and highly aromatic.

Pollinator Power – July

daisies

Our bountiful fruit and vegetable gardens can’t do it alone. Along with your TLC, productive gardens brimming with edibles need the timely input of pollinators to move pollen from male flowers or flower parts, to females, creating in the process that luscious cherry, spritely mandarin, or acid tomato. You know . . . the story of the birds and the bees!

Large orchards rely on hives of honeybees to get the job done. Though honeybees visit our flowers, many other often unseen bees and even striped flies that look like bees (hover flies) are responsible for much of this work. You’ve seen those huge, black fuzzy cargo planes called carpenter bees, and zippy little leaf cutter bees who furnish their homes with perfect semi-circles cut from the edges of leaves. Many native bees are even smaller and do lots of the heavy lifting of pollenizing. Fear not, they rarely sting; indeed many are incapable.

Attracting these non-robotic drones to do their work, benefits your harvest. Plant flowering plants nearby your edibles that have the same bloom time; for example, Iceland Poppies, Rosemary and Ceanothus all may be in bloom at the same time as your fruit trees; Marigolds and Zinnias may bloom along with your tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers.

And good news, a slightly messy garden, with herbs flowering and going to seed, and even a few weeds, is a boon to beneficial insects.

July Pollinator Palette

  • Lavender
    Sublime fragrance and color all in a low water use package
  • Herbs
    Especially when they go to seed; including Mint, Parsley, Cilantro, Oregano, Dill
  • Daisies
    Add a bit of cheer! Shasta, African, Marguerites, Black-eyed Susans & Coneflowers span the color spectrum
  • Summer Annuals
    Marigolds, Petunias, Portulaca, Zinnias
  • Buddleia
    Butterfly Bush’s purple flower spikes are a must have for bringing in its namesake
  • Asclepias
    Butterfly Weed is in its full glory now and supporting our fluttering friends

June Pollinator Power

swallowtail
Swallowtail caterpillar feeding on dill weed

Celebrate Pollinator Week June 19-25, 2023

National Pollinator Week is a time to celebrate pollinators and spread the word about what you can do to protect them.

Fifteen years ago the U.S. Senate’s unanimous approval and designation of a week in June as “National Pollinator Week” marked a necessary step toward addressing the urgent issue of declining pollinator populations. Pollinator Week has now grown into an international celebration of the valuable ecosystem services provided by bees, birds, butterflies, bats, and beetles. Pollinator Week was initiated and is managed by Pollinator Partnership.

Milkweed and Monarchs

Monarch butterflies have been in sharp decline since the 1990s due to the loss of milkweed (Monarch caterpillars eat only milkweed,) pesticides, changing weather patterns, and overwintering habitat loss.

Monarchs have lost 165 million acres of breeding habitat in the U.S. alone, so there is still more work to do to keep them from being considered endangered.

Home gardeners can help, too! Plant milkweed that is native to your area. Include native plants in the landscape to supply quality food for other pollinators. Minimize pesticide use, instead, look for garden pests regularly, dispose of them, and build a habitat that invites predatory insects.

Become a citizen scientist and share your observations, helping scientists get a fuller picture of the monarch population

Pollinator Palette

  • Lavender, sublime fragrance, and color all in a low water use “package”
  • Herbs especially when they go to seed, including Mint, Parsley, Cilantro, Oregano, Dill
  • Daisies add a bit of cheer! Shasta, African, Marguerites, Black-eyed Susans, and Coneflowers span the color spectrum
  • Summer Annuals, Marigolds, Petunias, Portulaca, Zinnias
  • Buddleia, Butterfly Bush’s purple flower spikes are a must have for bringing in its namesake
  • Asclepias, Butterfly Weed is in its full glory now and supporting our fluttering friends

Zinnias: Sow and Grow

Zinnias make a brilliant addition to the summer flower garden, loved by novice and expert gardeners alike. The pollinators love them too! They bloom effortlessly from summer to frost, and the more you cut, the more they branch and bloom.

Zinnias are native to Mexico and as a frost-sensitive annual appreciate warm weather. They bloom heaviest when daylight is less than 12 hours.

GENERAL SOWING OR TRANSPLANTING

Sow or plant outside now. Zinnias love the warmer weather ahead. The ideal temperature for sowing zinnias and many warm-season annuals is about 70°+. Think of it as sunbathing weather. Or you can get a headstart planting zinnias from starter plants.

We have starts ready to go into the ground now as well as many varieties from seed.

Zinnias thrive in fertile, well-drained soil in full sun (6 hours or more). Improve the soil with Bumper Crop soil conditioner before transplanting. Sow a group of 3 seeds every 8″-12″ apart and ¼” deep, depending on the variety (consult your seed packet). Or plant 4″ or 6-pack starters.

Weeding
Keep zinnias well weeded, so they aren’t competing for water or nutrients. A well-weeded patch of zinnias also has more airflow, which helps avoid fungal disease. Cultivate shallowly, as zinnia roots are close to the soil surface.

Fertilization
Plan on fertilizing with E.B. Stone Organics Rose & Flower Food – It’s slow release, organic and promotes blooms.

Water
Keep zinnias consistently moist but not soggy; allowing the top inch of soil to dry between watering once plants are established. Water the soil, avoiding the foliage to help prevent fungal disease. Mulching zinnias can help to keep down weeds, avoid soil splashing that can spread disease, and also keep the soil more consistently moist.

Special Care
Once they have four sets of leaves, clip or pinch zinnia seedlings back to just above a set of leaves, to encourage them to branch out. Deadheading frequently keeps zinnias blooming because it stops them from producing seeds, encouraging them to begin the bloom cycle again.

HARVESTING
For extended vase life, harvest before the small yellow flowers emerge from between petals.

COMMON PESTS AND DISEASES

Powdery Mildew looks like a white powder on leaves and thrives in humid weather with cool nights. Reduce chances of this disease by keeping leaves dry while watering only in the morning and during the day. Proper spacing of plants will provide good air circulation, too. Do not compost diseased plants; spores may over-winter and re-infect crops the following season.

Water-Wise Summer Perennials for May Planting

Our perennial section is alive with color this week. Perennials perform year-after-year. Here are a few of our water-wise favorites that provide interest over a long season. These are easy to grow and last to bloom again in future years. Now is a great time to plant so you can enjoy them as summer unfolds.

Beard Tongue (Penstemon sp.)

Beard Tongue (Penstemon sp.)Elegant and reliable perennials; valued by gardeners for their spires of foxglove-like flowers. Outstanding color varieties make it difficult to choose just one. Hummingbirds aren’t choosy; they like them all. Penstemon will perform all summer with regular deadheading, full sun & good garden soil.

Gaura Lindheimeri

Gaura LindheimeriGaura means “superb”, and it is. Imagine tall, loose wands of pinkish white stars, dancing on the wind. From spring to fall, this plant will flourish on a hot, dry slope, and in many other water-restricted sites. Blended with other perennials, it serves as a softening element for brighter colors. Give it a full season to establish.

Lavender (English, French & Spanish)

These heat-of-summer bloomers produce fragrant flower spikes that you’ll love. Their lavender-blue flowers are great for dry arrangements, sachets, or they may be made into aromatic stove-top potpourri simply by boiling. Cool the water, strain; use as a counter-top cleaner. Different varieties range in height from 18″ to 3′ with an equal spread. Well-drained soil is essential.

Salvia Greggii

salvia180Known as Autumn Sage, they are available in a number of flower colors – red, yellow, pink, white and purple. Erect growth to about three feet with medium green foliage. Blooms for much of the season, spring through fall. Plant in full sun.

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

Evergreen Perennial usually in the range of 18″ high, creating a spreading mat much of the year, then stretching to full height when it blooms with white, cream, pink red or yellow “landing pads”. Butterflies love them, and so do ladybugs!

Santa Barbara Daisy

ErigeronOne of the easiest daisies to grow, and very water-wise.  Adds sparkle to the flower garden, usually grows about 12″ high and 18″ wide. Blooms heavily in spring and then moderately through the warm season.

Hummers & Butterflies

Your garden can be much more than a lovely, serene place for family and friends to gather. It can be a bird and butterfly oasis. Creating this oasis doesn’t take much more than planting the kinds of plants which will attract birds and butterflies.

To help get you started, we’ve listed some of the annuals and perennials that will entice these critters into your garden. Remember that birds need to feel protected before they begin to gather so try centering these plantings near or around groups of established trees and shrubs.

Hummingbirds and Butterflies enjoy many of the same features in your garden. Both enjoy flowers for food, shelter from the weather, and a place to bask in the sun. Water is another essential — a hollow in a rock or a shallow birdbath can provide the needed water and hours of enjoyment to the observer!! Both hummingbirds and butterflies like to fly freely; and will give aerial shows almost hourly!

A well-planned garden with the proper plants and positioning is the secret to luring hummingbirds and butterflies. Even better, it is also practical and attractive…

Lantana

Flowers in reds and yellows provide a nectar source for butterflies.

Phlox

Butterflies and hummingbirds take nectar from the white and purple flowers. Other birds feed on the seeds in the fall.

Zinnias

Zinnia Magellan Salmon

Flowers provide nectar for butterflies while birds eat seeds in autumn and winter. Single flowering varieties are best.

Lavender

Fragrant purple flowers attract butterflies for nectar.

Stonecrop (Sedums)

Butterflies take nectar from the small pink flowers that bloom from August to September.

Sweet William (Dianthus)

Red, white, rosy purple flowers provide nectar for butterflies.

Achillea (Yarrow)

Yarrow is easy to grow and rewarding with sprays of summer flowers, making great butterfly landing pads. Ladybugs are attracted to this plant as well as butterflies. Grows 18″-24″ high.

Buddleia davidii (Butterfly Bush)

Purple Haze

Can reach 9-15 feet. Cut to knee high in November. Reblooms through summer if old blossoms removed. Great for both hummingbirds and butterflies.

Salvia Greggii (Autumn Sage)

This, and in fact, most sages are hummingbird attractants. Blooming for over half the year, Autumn sage is found in shades of red and pink.

Gaura lindheimeri

Can almost bloom its heart out. May remain in bloom 6 or more months. 2-3′ high and wide. Attracts hummers and butterflies.

Hemerocallis (Daylily)

Easy to grow, strap leaves are a nice contrast. Flowers are 2-3′  and attract both hummingbirds and butterflies.