by Rainer Hoenicke

While perusing the aisles at a nursery a few years back, I noticed a two-foot tall honeywort (Cerinthe major ‘purpurescens'), growing in a large container. It was in full bloom in the middle of February when hardly anything else was. I put a four-inch pot of Cerinthe in my basket and planted it in my front yard in between Asclepias speciosa and some California poppies. Since then, seeds have germinated after the first big rainstorm each year and provided some of the earliest color that is complementary to the orange California poppies. The patch of Cerinthe is a spectacular bee pasture. Each fall/winter, I have to pull out a great number of seedlings that pop up in my rain-garden swale among the pebbles, but they make great worm food when mixed in with some shredded paper and a bag of coffee grounds that I periodically get by just asking the staff behind a local coffee counter. While Cerinthe may become invasive due to its explosive seed dispersal mechanism, it's not gotten out of control at my place and provides a lot of color during the late winter all the way into late summer. Because it's a Mediterranean native, it does well without irrigation during the dry season. Seeds are readily available at a nursery or online source. 

Napa Master Gardeners are available to answer garden questions by email: mastergardeners@countyofnapa.org. or phone at 707-253-4143.  Volunteers will get back to you after they research answers to your questions.

Visit our website: napamg.ucanr.edu to find answers to all of your horticultural questions.

Photo credits: Public domain

Information links:

Wisconsin extension center https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/honeywort-cerinthe-major/

Calflora https://www.calflora.org/app/taxon?crn=13599