Winter is a great time to plant a native pollinator garden. Pollinators are the buzzing, flying creatures responsible for the formation of many of the fruits and vegetables that we humans love to eat. Planting for pollinators is a colorful way to attract interesting and beautiful birds, butterflies, bees, and insects to your garden while increasing the productivity of many edible plants.
Hummingbirds, for example, reach into tubular flowers with their long, thin beaks. Zauschneria californica (California Fuchsia; also known as Epilobium canum) is a perennial native to Butte County that is covered with brilliant orange-red tubular flowers from mid-summer through fall. This plant is a hummingbird magnet! Zauschneria ‘John Bixby' and
Zauschneria ‘Calistoga' are especially attractive and well-behaved varieties of California Fuchsia. Plant Zauschneria in part- to full-sun areas of your garden. Water once or twice a month during the dry season. To keep it looking tidy, cut this perennial to within a couple inches of the ground annually in late fall/early winter.
Carpenter bees relish the electric purple flowers of Penstemon heterophyllus (Foothill Penstemon). Pair Foothill Penstemon with California Poppies in full sun for the classic California color combination of orange and purple each spring. P. heterophyllus
Planting for pollinators is an easy and fun way to add a new dimension of interest to your native garden!
UC Master Gardeners of Butte County are part of the University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) system. To learn more about us and our upcoming events, and for help with gardening in our area, visit our website. If you have a gardening question or problem, email the Hotline at mgbutte@ucanr.edu or leave a phone message on our Hotline at (530) 538-7201. To speak to a Master Gardener about a gardening issue, or to drop by the MG office during Hotline hours, see the most current information on our Ask Us section of our website.
Note: This is the third in a three-part series on native plants that have proven successful on the author's property along the Lindo Channel in Chico. The previous articles discussed large trees, small trees and large shrubs.
California Wild Rose (Rosa californica) is native throughout California, except for the high Cascade Range and the high Sierra Nevada. It is a deciduous, thicket-forming shrub growing four to eight feet in height, with prickly, arching stems. One to two-inch fragrant pink flowers appear from mid-spring through summer.
If planted in dry light shade, California Wild Rose needs no supplemental irrigation, but if planted in full sun, extra water will be necessary. It is adaptable to many soil types, and is useful as a barrier plant and soil stabilizer. Any all-purpose plant food will keep it healthy, flowering, and attractive all year. It is immune to mildew and rust.
California Wild Rose provides excellent nesting and shelter habitat for songbirds and attracts butterflies. The flowers support many pollinator species; after bloom, wild rose hips persist on the plant and are an important food source for birds and mammals.
Silver Lupine(Lupinus albifrons) is a perennial which quickly grows to three feet, then slowly reaches up to five feet. Flowers are very showy and fragrant, appearing in blue spikes on a white-silver bush and blooming from spring into summer.
Silver Lupine is a specific host to the Mission Blue Butterfly. It also attracts other butterflies, bees, and birds (including quail). It is deer resistant; but it is important to note that Silver Lupine is toxic to livestock.
California Fuchsia (Zauschneria californicum or Epilobium canum)is a low-growing shrub with bright orange to red flowers and gray or green leaves. This plant grows where there is extra moisture in the winter and spring, with the soil gradually drying through fall. California Fuchsias prefer a cool but sunny location, but will tolerate part shade or hot sun with moisture. Summer watering is necessary the first year. By pruning or mowing established plants in winter, the shorter varieties will stay very low at three to six inches high, otherwise growing to two feet. Plants will spread three to six feet across and boast hundreds of bright red one- to two-inch flowers from late summer to fall.
California Fuchsia can seed abundantly and be used to stabilize banks; it can sometimes become invasive.
This plant is a magnet for hummingbirds and also attracts bees. It will tolerate deer damage, and is bothered by very few pests unless grown in large numbers.
UC Master Gardeners of Butte County are part of the University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) system. To learn more about us and our upcoming events, and for help with gardening in our area, visit our website. If you have a gardening question or problem, email the Hotline at mgbutte@ucanr.edu or leave a phone message on our Hotline at (530) 538-7201. To speak to a Master Gardener about a gardening issue, or to drop by the MG office during Hotline hours, see the most current information on our Ask Us Hotline webpage.
By fall most summer-blooming plants have run their course, while summer-dormant plants are just beginning to start their new growth for the season. You may feel your garden needs more color. Luckily for the gardener, there are some native plants which continue to bloom well into the fall and others which begin to bloom in late fall.
Fall is the best time to plant natives as they have time to get their roots established before the heat of next summer. If you plant some fall-bloomers now, you'll have some great color at this time next year.
By Jeff Oster, UC Butte County Master Gardener, November 10, 2017.
Note: This is the third in a three-part series on native plants that have proven successful on the author's property along the Lindo Channel in Chico. The previous articles discussed large trees, small trees and large shrubs.
California Wild Rose, Silver Lupine, and California Fuchsia are all smaller shrubs that provide flower color and foliage interest while also offering food and habitat for wildlife in our area.
If planted in dry light shade, California Wild Rose needs no supplemental irrigation, but if planted in full sun, extra water will be necessary. It is adaptable to many soil types, and is useful as a barrier plant and soil stabilizer. Any all-purpose plant food will keep it healthy, flowering, and attractive all year. It is immune to mildew and rust.
California Wild Rose provides excellent nesting and shelter habitat for songbirds and attracts butterflies. The flowers support many pollinator species; after bloom, wild rose hips persist on the plant and are an important food source for birds and mammals.
Plant Silver Lupine in full sun with good drainage and some water (performs best on the dry side). This plant prefers well-drained soils with a pH of 6 to 8. The life span of Silver Lupine is about 6 years; plants fix nitrogen and will often reseed forming small colonies. This makes it a good choice for erosion control or planting on a rocky slope.
Silver Lupine is a specific host to the Mission Blue Butterfly. It also attracts other butterflies, bees, and birds (including quail). It is deer resistant; but it is important to note that Silver Lupine is toxic to livestock.
California Fuchsia (Zauschneria californicum or Epilobium canum)is a low-growing shrub with bright orange to red flowers and gray or green leaves. This plant grows where there is extra moisture in the winter and spring, with the soil gradually drying through fall. California Fuchsias prefer a cool but sunny location, but will tolerate part shade or hot sun with moisture. Summer watering is necessary the first year. By pruning or mowing established plants in winter, the shorter varieties will stay very low at three to six inches high, otherwise growing to two feet. Plants will spread three to six feet across and boast hundreds of bright red one- to two-inch flowers from late summer to fall.
California Fuchsia can seed abundantly, and be used to stabilize banks, sometimes becoming invasive.
This plant is a magnet for hummingbirds and also attracts bees. It will tolerate deer damage, and is bothered by very few pests unless grown in large numbers.
The following two charts refer to plants referenced in the three part series on native plants that thrive in Chico and Lindo Channel.