Wildflower Wednesday: Phacelia bipinnatifida and Love at First Sight

 It really was love at first sight.  

Who could resist the lavender-blue flowers with deeply divided, mottled fern-like leaves that bloom in early spring and attracts bees? Those leaves alone are worth having in your garden. They have lighter, grayish-green, or silvery, watermark-like blotches and can develop a purple tinge in late fall/winter. 

My little naturalized colony at its best

It's been so long ago that I can't remember when I added Phacelia bipinnatifida to the garden but, I remember quite clearly the first time I saw a naturally occurring colony on a shady damp hillside. I was going to visit a new friend's garden and was driving up her steep drive, as I turned a bend in the drive every where I looked Purple Phacelia was blooming and bees were dancing from flower to flower. There's something splendid about natives that mass naturally, and this was a dazzling and magical pollinator show.

My little Phacelia colony waxes and wanes from year to year. Purple phacelia/Phacelia bipinnatifida is a biennial wildflower in the Hydrophyllaceae (Waterleaf) family that is native to the southeast USA. Biennials require two growing seasons to complete their life-cycle. The first year is vegetative growth; the second year, they flower and produce seed and shortly after, they die. They're usually quite prolific and will set seed, but, you'll only have flowers every other year. If you want to have blooms every year, you've got to put a little bit of effort into making that happen.

 

Let's get more detailed about what that effort looks like.

When you are trying to get a biennial established it's important to remember: One year from seed, second year to flower, then it dies. To have flowers every year you have to get a colony started, so you need seeds, first year plants and flowering plants. I really was lucky to be given several plants in bloom and many first year seedlings. Here's how it works! Those first flowers were visited by Bumble bees and other pollinators and got fertilized, they set seed and then died. The fallen seeds germinated and over wintered; the following spring the original first year seedlings bloomed and their flowers were fertilized, set seed, and then died. It's not a complicated process, but it's a brilliant cycle that continues to this day.  

 

I make sure the cycle is not interrupted. Which means that I collect the seeds, and sprinkle them where I want new plants, sometimes I move the tiny seedlings, the first year plants and even the second year plants in late winter to make the colony larger. They always seem to survive!

 

If you're lucky it forms self seeding colonies that are simply stunning. 

 As all gardeners know, some years are better then others and this is a lean year. Lean because we've had a several years of low rainfall right when the seeds need moisture to germinate. I've watered enough so that I have flowers every year, but, I will be doubling my efforts this year to reinvigorate my little colony. To insure  the  colony will make it through the deluge/drought pattern Middle Tennessee has settled into, I'll hand water them during the severely dry times.

Bees and other pollinators that are out and about on warm days love Phacelia. It has wildlife value and supports  the following specialized bees: Andrena (Micrandrena) lamelliterga, Andrena (Euandrena) phaceliae, Hoplitis (Robertsonella) simplex.

tightly coiled inflorescence in bud

I am honestly not disappointed that it's a lean year. Especially when I see proof that it's  providing for a lot of early spring visitors. I don't have hillsides of Phacelia, that requires much moister soil than I can give it, but, where it's blooming it shines. 

 

 To successfully grow our Wildflower star give it part-shade, shade, moisture, (it can take some dryness) in acid, neutral, average loam. It won't turn it's noise up at rich moist, well draining soil! 

 There are a few online nurseries that sell Purple Phacelia just do a web search. Or if you're lucky and can find a friend with seedlings to share, you can start your own journey to having a colony of flowers that pollinators adore. I hope that post like this open eyes to the beauty of Phacelia. 

 

 The Particulars

 Botanical name: Phacelia  bipinnatifida

Common names: Purple Phacelia, Fernleaf Phacelia, Fernleaf Scorpion Weed, Spotted Phacelia, Loose-flowered Phacelia

Family: Hydrophyllaceae (Waterleaf) family, also sometimes classified in Borage family

Life Cycle: Biennial

Distribution: AL , AR , GA , IA , IL , IN , KY , MD , MO , MS , NC , OH , PA , SC , TN , VA , WV

USDA Plant Hardiness Zone: 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b  

Height: 1 ft. 0 in. - 3 ft. 0 in. 

Width: 1 ft. 0 in. - 3 ft. 0 in. 

Light: Dappled Sunlight (Shade through upper canopy all day) Deep shade (Less than 2 hours to no direct sunlight) Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours) Full sun if mesic soil.

Soil:  Adaptable-clay, shallow rocky, loamy, sandy and/or high organic matter. PH acidic and neutral. Moisture-well draining and moist  

Flower description: Racemes of 4-12 blue to purple flowers are produced from March through April/May. Individual flowers are 1/2 inch across cup shaped with 5-lobed corolla, 5 sepals, 5 stamens, a slender style, and an ovary. The racemes occur at the top of stems with some secondary ones forming in the axils of the upper stems.  

Color: Blue/Purple/Lavender  

Bloom Time: Spring. March in middle Tennessee.

Propagation: I collect seed by placing a tray with potting soil under the blooming flower. I let most self sow. Seeds ripen shortly after blooming. I let natural rain fall water the seeds and they germinate when temperatures cool in the fall and through the winter. I usually don't notice seedlings until March. Some folks say that the seed needs to be sown fresh, but I am going to try to collect it and place in the refrigerator to see if it will grow when sown later.

 

Surface sowing is always successful and in my garden fallen leaves don't seem to keep them from germinating, so prehaps light isn;t a requirement.

Wildlife Value:  Phacelia support the following specialized bees: Andrena (Micrandrena) lamelliterga, Andrena (Euandrena) phaceliae, Hoplitis (Robertsonella) simplex.
   
Comments: Deer and bunny safe. This is a plant that should be in every shady garden. Find a friend who will share a few seedlings. Phacelia bipinnatifida should be allowed plenty of room in a naturalistic, woodland setting to move around as it wishes. If you want to maintain it in precise spots, transplant seedlings in the fall to preferred locations. 

My thoughts: When it comes to wildflowers almost all the attention centers on perennials. They're marvelous investment plants that you can count on to make a good show in your garden year after year, but, you might want to consider adding a few annuals and biennials that are native to your part of the garden world. They're charming plants and add another dimension to the garden~many of the seedlings and first year plant's foliage is quite attractive. (Gardeners, Do Yourself A Big Favor)

Thanks for reading! xoxogail


 

Welcome to Clay and Limestone and Wildflower Wednesday.  This day is about sharing wildflowers and other native plants no matter where one gardens~the UK, tropical Florida, Europe, Australia, Africa, South America, India or the coldest reaches of Canada. It doesn't matter if we sometimes share the same plants. How they grow and thrive in your garden is what matters most.

 

 Gail Eichelberger is a gardener, Tennessee Naturalist and nature writer in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

Wildflower Wednesday: Vernonia gigantea, A Rough and Tumble Wildflower

 

Vernonia gigantea is one of my favorite of the late summer rough and tumble wildflowers that make a home in the garden. They make gardening at this time of year a pleasure. Bees, butterflies, skippers, and various bee flies seek out the nectar and pollen. Deer do not browse it.

Ironweed is the common name for this beauty. It's a clump forming perennial with clusters of fluffy magenta-purple petaled flowers in the Asteraceae family. The flower heads consist of  9 to 30 disc flowers that sit atop stiff, upright stems with lance shaped leaves.  It's another native that doesn't mind wet feet and grows at Clay and Limestone despite the dry clay soil each summer. I do make sure it gets a good drink of water during especially droughty times. 

Vernonia is quite possibly the King of Pasture Weeds. In fact, the University of Tennessee has a fact sheet and refers to this leggy beauty as a troublesome weed. It seems that it's not tasty to cows and if it's growing in a pasture the cows must spend more time looking for grass and that means less grazing! Of course there's a term for this~~grazing inefficiency. Naturally they recommend using herbicides to eradicate it. Herbicides are a no-no in this garden. 

According to  that same article, Vernonia thrives in disturbed/empty places, which is why it shows up in pastures. My garden is quite crowded so over the years the clump has gotten smaller. I've decided to dig out the Rudbeckia maxima (moving it to a container) and plant the ironweed in it's place.

Vernonia is too ecologically valuable to allow it to languish.

I  have a special place in my heart for wild and rough looking beauties like Vernonia.

Pasture weeds are spectacular and I adore them. Goldenrod, Callirhoe involucrata, common evening primrose, Tradescantia ohiensis, violets, Eupatorium capillifolium and Salvia lyrata are also on the weed list. They're all rough and tumble wildflowers favorites at Clay and Limestone.

   Just take a drive down a country road and you can see our star in an pasture or in the roadside ditch. If you live near a meadow or prairie it's sure to be thriving there.

 

The birds planted it in my garden. Thank you goldfinches and song sparrows for collecting the rust colored seeds and dropping them in my garden! Dear reader, you might consider planting it to attract pollinators because it is a fantastic late-season nectar source. Leave the stalks standing all winter to feed the birds. The caterpillars of some moths feed on Ironweed species, including Grammia parthenice (Parthenice Tiger Moth), Perigea xanthioides (Red Groundling), and Papaipema cerussata (Ironweed Borer Moth). The larvae of some insect feeders are known to form galls on the buds and flowerheads of Vernonia species. (source)

I appreciate any plants that haven't had their best characteristics bred out of them.

When Vernonia blooms I know it will be doing the job nature intended it to do: make a lot of nectar and pollen and bloom for a long time, exactly when the critters need both.

The Particulars

Botanical name: Vernonia gigantea, scientific synonym is Vernonia altissima.

 Common Name: giant ironweed 

 Type: Herbaceous perennial 

Family: Asteraceae 

Native Range: Eastern United States 

Zone: 5 to 8 

Height: 5.00 to 8.00 feet 

Spread: 3.00 to 6.00 feet 

Bloom Time: August to September 

Bloom Description: Rose purple/magenta

Sun: Full sun to part shade 

Water: Medium to wet 

Maintenance: Low 

Suggested Use: Naturalize, Rain Garden, back of the border with Cup plant, Oenothera biennis, and tall Rudbeckias

Flower: Showy, a wonderful purple that looks brilliant with yellow composites

Tolerate: Deer, Wet Soil

Ecology: is a larval host to the ironweed borer moth (Papaipema cerussata) and the red groundling moth (Perigea xanthioides). The small rust-colored seeds of ironweed attract finches and song sparrows.

Comments: Habitats include open woodlands, woodland borders, thickets, areas along woodland paths, swamps, riverbottom prairies, seeps and springs, pastures, and abandoned fields. It can be easily shaded out by tall trees.

 xoxogail

So glad you stopped by to see the Wildflower Wednesday star! Wildflower Wednesday is about sharing wildflowers all over this great big beautiful world. It doesn't matter if we sometimes show the same plants, how they grow and thrive in your garden is what matters most. I hope you join the celebration...It's always the fourth Wednesday of the month!

 

Don't forget our Wildflower Wednesday monthly challenge! 

The first part of this challenge is to do something every month during 2023 and beyond that supports native wildflowers, pollinators, and the critters that visit and rely on our gardens. Activities that increase our knowledge of the natural world are equally as valuable. Helping others learn about nature is included. Golly gee whiz, there are so many things you can do. The second part of the challenge is to post about it somewhere: Your blog, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or even your neighborhood listserve. Wouldn't an article in the local paper be a coup for nature! Why post it? Because positive publicity is needed to educate our friends, neighbors and communities about how important even the smallest changes we make as gardeners can be for pollinators, birds, insects and mammals that live all around us. 

Why now?  My neighborhood is changing. Yours might be, too. Every day an older home along with many (if not all) of the mature oak, hickory, maple, Eastern cedar and hackberry trees that have been there for over 75 years are cut down. In place of the "bee lawns" composed of Claytonia, Salvia lyrata, Ruellia humilis, fleabane, Western Daisy, Violets, self-heal, clovers, and dandelions that grew so well in the shallow soil that sits on top of limestone bedrock are sodded non-native lawns that get daily watering, whether it rains or not. Gone are the lightening bugs. Gone are the ground dwelling/nesting native bees. Gone is the habitat for insects, spiders and other critters. Gone is plant diversity. Gone are trees that provided for hundreds of moths, butterflies and other insects. Gone are the nesting sites for woodpeckers, hummingbirds, Chickadees and other birds. It breaks my heart. We can't stop the multi-million dollar houses from going up, but, maybe we can make a lot of educational noise and help our new neighbors see the value in providing for critters.

A gardener can hope!

Here's an incomplete list of things you might consider doing or changing in your garden, but don't limit yourself to my list, make your own list or check out the internet for ideas.

Shrink your lawn and make your planting beds larger.

Plant your favorite native perennials and shrubs. Leave them standing after they've gone to seed to continue to provide for wildlife. What you plant in your yard makes a difference to wildlife. I garden for wildlife so every tree, shrub and plant is chosen with wildlife in mind.

Plant more natives and then consider planting even more. "A typical suburban landscape contains only 20-30% native plant species. Try reversing that trend in your own landscape by using 70-80% native species." (source)

Commit to never, ever, ever, ever using pesticides in the garden.

Stay away from native plant hybrids and cultivars that are double flowered. They are sterile and have no pollen or nectar for insects and no seeds for the birds. If possible plant “true open-pollinated native wildflowers”

If you want to garden for wildlife and pollinators, don't let lack of space stop you! Plant your favorite wildflowers in large containers. You just might have the prairie or woodland garden you've always wanted...in a pot!
 
Create a water feature. Provide water year round that is accessible to birds, bees and other critters.

Show some soil! Our native ground nesting bees nest in bare soil, so don't mulch every square inch of your garden. 

Get rid of the plastic weed barriers in your garden, it's not good for anything.

Invite bugs into your garden. Plant annuals that attract beneficial bugs.

Learn to tolerate damaged plants. Imperfection is the new perfect.

Don't be in a rush to clean up the fall garden. Leave plant stalks and seed heads standing all winter. Leave those fallen leaves or as many as you can tolerate! Insects over winter in the fallen and decaying leaves. Leave a layer of leaves as a soft landing material under trees for moths and butterflies to over winter. Many caterpillars drop to the ground from the trees in the fall.

Make a brush pile. Stack fallen brush, cut tree limbs, broken pots for ground beetles. Ground beetles are excellent at eating "bad bugs'. They're also good bird, toad and small critter food. 

Rethink what you consider a pest. Lots of good bugs eat aphids. Spiders are important predators and bird food!

Add nesting boxes for birds. 

Turn off your yard up-lighting, eave lights and porch lights after 11pm. This is important for nocturnal critters including mammals, snakes, insects, bats, birds (especially during migration). (Birdcast suggestions)

Plant shrubs and small trees that provide berries and nuts.

Keep a nature journal: Observe visitors to the water feature, make note of when they visit. Notice which flowers attract the most pollinators and which ones are just pretty faces. 

Join your state native plant society (Tennessee Native Plant Society)

Join WildOnes even if there's no local group. (Middle Tennessee WildOnes)

Support your local native plant sellers. (GroWild in middle Tennessee, Overhill Gardens in east Tennessee,  Resource Guide TN Native Plant Society)

Encourage your local garden clubs to offer native plant talks.

If your garden club has a plant sale encourage them to sell more native plants.

Get trained as a naturalist (Tennessee Naturalist Program, Almost every state has their own Master Naturalist training program)

Take an online course on tree, fungi and wildflower id.

Take a walk in your neighborhood and observe nature. To quote Joanna Brichetto in Sidewalk Nature "Look Around. Nature is here, is us, our driveways, our baseboards, parks, and parking lots."

Buy the best wildflower, butterfly and bird id books for your state.

Read nature books to your children and grandchildren. Buy them nature books.

Give nature books as baby shower gifts (Nature books for infants and toddlers)

Read! There are hundreds of books on gardening for wildlife, the environment, and rewilding our world. There are delightful blogs with wonderful and informative articles.

If you are already gardening with wildlife in mind then add a few signs that help educate your neighbors. (Xerces Society, Pollinator Partnership)

Set up an information station where neighbors can pick up brochures about your garden and other info. 

Get certified (National Wildlife Federation, check to see what your state offers)

 

Visit

 

 

 

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

Wildflower Wednesday: There Be Dragons in the Garden

The Dragons in my garden are the best kind to have. They're dramatic and elegant looking, growing over three foot tall with a two foot 'wingspan'. 

 

 They mingle well with the denizens of Clay and Limestone, preferring the dappled sunlight and a moist, rich woodland soil that I have worked to create. 

 

Green Dragon, aka, Arisaema dracontium is marvelous to behold. The woodland wildflower emerges as one stalk and slowly unfurls its mighty wings. Or, if you prefer leaf! What looks like two leaves is one leaf that forks into leaflets of unequal size and uneven numbers. Go ahead and count them...it's always uneven.

 

The leaflets are arranged palmately (having a shape similar to that of a hand with the fingers extended) on the tip of the forked stem. I've measured them and the largest in my garden was over three foot tall with a 15 inch leaf spread. The parted leaflets curve around to give Green Dragon a rather large horseshoe shape. 

As it unfurls, the rather fantastic looking dragon's tail is revealed. 

The tiny yellow male and female flowers are hidden in the hooded spathe at the base of the long and twisting spadix.

 It blooms for a month and releases a scent that is undetectable to us but, is attractive to fungus gnats!

Behold the dragon's future progeny...The green fruit appears shortly after the bloom fades in late May to early June. They're an oval cluster of oblong to pear-shaped berries. I love the exotic look of Green Dragon, but the crimson berries that appear at the cusp of summer and fall might be the most spectacular part of this perennial's life.

 I love spreading the seeds around the garden and have had great success in transplanting the plant (make sure to get the corm and roots). But, honestly, most of the credit goes to ants. Ants are responsible for dispersing the seeds of as much as a third of the plants at the understory of Eastern deciduous forests. Green Dragon and other early blooming plants have evolved to provide food attached to their seeds to entice ants to disperse those seeds. This food, called an elaiosome, is a specialized fat body whose chemical composition more closely matches that of the insects that ants prefer than it does that of a seed. They carry the seeds to their nest, eat the protective protein cover and deposit the seeds in their midden! Middens are the ant's equivalent of a compost pile! This mutualism is referred to by ecologists as myrmecochory. (source)

Mixes well with woodland native wildflowers

I really appreciate seeing the emerging plants each spring and love seeing where the seeds have landed. Sometimes Ma Nature with the help of ants, does a better job of planting them among great companion plants than I can do. 

If you get a chance, do plant some dragons in your garden.

xoxogail

The Particulars:

Botanical name: Arisaema dracontium

Common Name: Green dragon

 Type: Herbaceous perennial 

Family: Araceae (Arum family)

Native Range: Eastern North America

 

 Zone: 4 to 9 

Height: 1.00 to 3.00 feet 

Spread: 1.00 to 1.50 feet 

Bloom Time: May to June 

Bloom Description: Light green 

Sun: Part shade to full shade 

Water: Medium to wet 

Maintenance: Medium 

Suggested Use: Naturalize, Rain Garden 

Cultivation: 'Green Dragon' grows in fertile, moist, slightly acidic woodland soils in part to full shade. Grow along streams or ponds, in the woodland setting, under trees and shrubs or native shade gardens.

Flower: The tiny yellow male and female flowers are hidden in the hooded spathe at the base of the long and twisting spadix.

Showy Fruit: Showy 

Tolerates: Heavy Shade, Wet Soil. Never eaten by mammals.

Comments: DO NOT EAT: The toxic agent is calcium oxalate, which causes a burning sensation in the mouth, gastrointestinal distress, and possible damage to the kidneys.

Wildlife value: The flowers of Green Dragon attract simple flies (Nematocera), particularly fungus gnats. A thrip species, Ctenothrips bridwelli, has been observed feeding on Green Dragon. The berries are eaten by the Wild Turkey, Wood Thrush, and possibly other woodland birds. Mammalian herbivores, including White-Tailed Deer, rarely feed on the foliage and corms as they are highly toxic. 

Welcome to Wildflower Wednesday. I am so glad you stopped by. WW is about sharing and celebrating our native wildflowers from all over this great big, beautiful world. Join us on the fourth Wednesday of each month. Please share  your wildflower stars on your blog, your Instagram page, Facebook or other social media platform. We want to get the word out about wildflowers. Please leave your url when you comment. I love your comments, so thank you for leaving them. 

Don't forget our Wildflower Wednesday monthly challenge! 

The first part of this challenge is to do something every month during 2023 and beyond that supports native wildflowers, pollinators, and the critters that visit and rely on our gardens. Activities that increase our knowledge of the natural world are equally as valuable. Helping others learn about nature is included. Golly gee whiz, there are so many things you can do. The second part of the challenge is to post about it somewhere: Your blog, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or even your neighborhood listserve. Wouldn't an article in the local paper be a coup for nature! Why post it? Because positive publicity is needed to educate our friends, neighbors and communities about how important even the smallest changes we make as gardeners can be for pollinators, birds, insects and mammals that live all around us. 

Why now?  My neighborhood is changing. Yours might be, too. Every day an older home along with many (if not all) of the mature oak, hickory, maple, Eastern cedar and hackberry trees that have been there for over 75 years are cut down. In place of the "bee lawns" composed of Claytonia, Salvia lyrata, Ruellia humilis, fleabane, Western Daisy, Violets, self-heal, clovers, and dandelions that grew so well in the shallow soil that sits on top of limestone bedrock are sodded non-native lawns that get daily watering, whether it rains or not. Gone are the lightening bugs. Gone are the ground dwelling/nesting native bees. Gone is the habitat for insects, spiders and other critters. Gone is plant diversity. Gone are trees that provided for hundreds of moths, butterflies and other insects. Gone are the nesting sites for woodpeckers, hummingbirds, Chickadees and other birds. It breaks my heart. We can't stop the multi-million dollar houses from going up, but, maybe we can make a lot of educational noise and help our new neighbors see the value in providing for critters.

A gardener can hope!

Here's an incomplete list of things you might consider doing or changing in your garden, but don't limit yourself to my list, make your own list or check out the internet for ideas.

Shrink your lawn and make your planting beds larger.

Plant your favorite native perennials and shrubs. Leave them standing after they've gone to seed to continue to provide for wildlife. What you plant in your yard makes a difference to wildlife. I garden for wildlife so every tree, shrub and plant is chosen with wildlife in mind.

Plant more natives and then consider planting even more. "A typical suburban landscape contains only 20-30% native plant species. Try reversing that trend in your own landscape by using 70-80% native species." (source)

Commit to never, ever, ever, ever using pesticides in the garden.

Stay away from native plant hybrids and cultivars that are double flowered. They are sterile and have no pollen or nectar for insects and no seeds for the birds. If possible plant “true open-pollinated native wildflowers”

If you want to garden for wildlife and pollinators, don't let lack of space stop you! Plant your favorite wildflowers in large containers. You just might have the prairie or woodland garden you've always wanted...in a pot!
 
Create a water feature. Provide water year round that is accessible to birds, bees and other critters.

Show some soil! Our native ground nesting bees nest in bare soil, so don't mulch every square inch of your garden. 

Get rid of the plastic weed barriers in your garden, it's not good for anything.

Invite bugs into your garden. Plant annuals that attract beneficial bugs.

Learn to tolerate damaged plants. Imperfection is the new perfect.

Don't be in a rush to clean up the fall garden. Leave plant stalks and seed heads standing all winter. Leave those fallen leaves or as many as you can tolerate! Insects over winter in the fallen and decaying leaves. Leave a layer of leaves as a soft landing material under trees for moths and butterflies to over winter. Many caterpillars drop to the ground from the trees in the fall.

Make a brush pile. Stack fallen brush, cut tree limbs, broken pots for ground beetles. Ground beetles are excellent at eating "bad bugs'. They're also good bird, toad and small critter food. 

Rethink what you consider a pest. Lots of good bugs eat aphids. Spiders are important predators and bird food!

Add nesting boxes for birds. 

Turn off your yard up-lighting, eave lights and porch lights after 11pm. This is important for nocturnal critters including mammals, snakes, insects, bats, birds (especially during migration). (Birdcast suggestions)

Plant shrubs and small trees that provide berries and nuts.

Keep a nature journal: Observe visitors to the water feature, make note of when they visit. Notice which flowers attract the most pollinators and which ones are just pretty faces. 

Join your state native plant society (Tennessee Native Plant Society)

Join WildOnes even if there's no local group. (Middle Tennessee WildOnes)

Support your local native plant sellers. (GroWild in middle Tennessee, Overhill Gardens in east Tennessee,  Resource Guide TN Native Plant Society)

Encourage your local garden clubs to offer native plant talks.

If your garden club has a plant sale encourage them to sell more native plants.

Get trained as a naturalist (Tennessee Naturalist Program, Almost every state has their own Master Naturalist training program)

Take an online course on tree, fungi and wildflower id.

Take a walk in your neighborhood and observe nature. To quote Joanna Brichetto in Sidewalk Nature "Look Around. Nature is here, is us, our driveways, our baseboards, parks, and parking lots."

Buy the best wildflower, butterfly and bird id books for your state.

Read nature books to your children and grandchildren. Buy them nature books.

Give nature books as baby shower gifts (Nature books for infants and toddlers)

Read! There are hundreds of books on gardening for wildlife, the environment, and rewilding our world. There are delightful blogs with wonderful and informative articles.

If you are already gardening with wildlife in mind then add a few signs that help educate your neighbors. (Xerces Society, Pollinator Partnership)

Set up an information station where neighbors can pick up brochures about your garden and other info. 

Get certified (National Wildlife Federation, check to see what your state offers)

 

Visit

 

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

Wildflower Wednesday: Alabama Croton Revisited

I can clearly recall the first time I saw many of the Wildflower Wednesday stars, but, Croton alabamensis is not one of them. What I remember was how long and hard I searched for it. I was thrilled when Paul Moore, a dear friend and fellow wildflower aficionado offered a seedling to me. I clearly remember the day I drove to his garden to pick up the Alabama croton. If one can dance while driving it was certainly me.

Let me say first that Paul's garden is lovely. It sits on the top of a hill in southwest Davidson county over looking Nashville. It is a beautiful and artistically designed garden and reflects  Paul's sensibilities as a landscape photographer and a native plant lover. The wildflowers are scrumptious, as is his moss lawn! But, I digress...and will show you his garden another time.

Alabama Croton has formed a thicket in Paul's garden (1/20/14)

You get your first look at Alabama croton as you drive up the long, curving drive. There was a large planting, at least 20 feet wide and 6 feet or more deep.

February 25, 2020

It was a gorgeous thicket of silver and orange fluttering leaves; striking against the winter blue sky. It is clearly a year round beauty and I was so fortunate to be taking home a seedling for Clay and Limestone.

I wanted that thicket in my garden and planted the seedlings right were I thought they would be happiest; on a sunny slope, where it would get sun and the drainage it would need in our wet winters.

Alas, my dream did not come true, several years later the city tree trimmers dropped limbs from my poor desecrated Bur oak on top of the bed it was planted in. To add insult and further injury, the workers stomped all over the plants while picking up the limbs. I was pretty steamed and terribly sad when I came home to find it and several other plants destroyed.

There are three seedlings in the container (2/25/20)

Fast forward to now, Paul, generous friend that he is, is digging seedlings for me. When he messaged me that he had plants for me, I rushed over to get them. In case you wondered, there was happy dancing going on.

pumpkin orange fall and winter leaves

Alabama croton is endemic to a few counties in Alabama, one county in Middle Tennessee (Coffee) and three counties in faraway Texas (Croton alabamensis var. texensis/Texabama croton) and is still nearly impossible to find for sale.

Alabama Croton is the bees knees.

• it's not deterred by dry, poor, limey soil
• it easily braves hot summers like we've been having the past few years,
• it will grow in decent garden soil that is well draining,
• it grows in the full sun, but, can appreciate a semi-shady location, 
• it's native to Middle Tennessee, 
• it's locally sourced, and 
• it has year round interest.

This rare, semi-evergreen southern shrub is worthy of wider use in gardens. Alabama croton is an irregular, multi-stemmed shrub that grows to 5′ tall. Its bright green foliage with striking, silvery scales beneath is attractive in summer as well as in autumn when it develops pumpkin-orange colored foliage.

Can you see the silver scales on the leaves?

It produces very few leaves, but, the ones it has are noted for their elliptic to oblong-shape and glistening silver scales and stunning autumn color. In milder winters the leaves hang on and flutter green and orange until spring.


That's exactly what you see when you visit Paul's garden.

elliptic to oblong leaves flutter in the wind

Croton alabamensis performs well in full sun to partial shade in well-drained to very dry soils. It is tolerant of slightly acidic to very alkaline soils. I've found that it needs very good drainage and that was one reason it was planted on the sloped section of the garden under the over hanging limbs of the Bur oak.

Alabama croton is a good companion when planted with Rhus aromatica, Clematis viorna, Coreopsis auriculata, Phlox divaricata, Schizachyrium scoparium, Amsonia ciliata var. tenuifolia, Coreopsis grandiflora, and Liatris microcephala.

Those companion plantings sound delightful and I have some seedlings of Amsonia, Coreopsis and Liatris to plant with it. I do hope it forms a thicket.

Even the flowers have scales  Source: E. A Smith

Mature shrubs produce 2" panicles of pale yellow blooms in the late winter or early spring. They're   highly attractive to bees and butterflies. In fact, it's a host plant for the Goatweed Leafwing butterfly.

fruits/drupes from the Wasowski Collection

The Particulars

Croton alabamensis
Common name: Alabama Croton
Family: Euphorbiaceae (Spurge Family)
Native Range: Southern United States, but found naturally occuring in only three states, Texas, Alabama and Tennessee.
USDA Plant Hardiness Zone: 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
Light: Deep shade (Less than 2 hours to no direct sunlight) Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil: Alabama croton grows naturally on limestone bluffs and will tolerate dry, poor soil. Soil rich in organic matter, with excellent drainage is also fine.
Flower Color: Gold/Yellow
Inflorescence: Raceme
Flower Bloom Time: Spring
Flower Description: Yellow-green flowers on 1-1.5" raceme.
Deciduous Leaf Color: Gray/Silver
Green Deciduous Leaf
Fall Color: Orange, persists through the winter.
Leaf Type: Simple
Leaf Arrangement: Alternate
Leaf Description: Apple-green leaves. The lower surface of the leaf is silvery in color. Oldest leaves turn brilliant orange in the fall.
Wildlife value: Host plant for Goatweed Leafwing butterfly/Anaea andria
Comments: Be sure it has great drainage.

Blooms already! 2/25/20

You may be wondering where you can find them. Middle Tennessee gardeners contact Terri Barnes at GroWild, they may have them or know where to find them. Alabama gardeners, try contacting  your local Native Plant Society and Texas gardeners go to Hill Country Natives.

xoxogail

Welcome to Clay and Limestone and Wildflower Wednesday.  Thank you all for joining me as we celebrate and share our marvelous and beautiful wildflowers. I hope 2020 is the year we all plant more native wildflowers for the many critters that live in and visit our gardens. Let's be sure we celebrate them every day, not just WW. Remember, it doesn't matter if they are in bloom or not, you can still share them. Please leave a comment and add your name to Mr Linky so others can pop over to see your Wildflower Wednesday post.



Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

Erigeron philadelphicus for National Wildflower Week

Common fleabane is a biennial/short lived perennial that blooms from April through July in my Middle Tennessee garden. It is native throughout much of the US and Canada and is often seen growing in open fields, grassy ares/lawns and the edges of woodlands. While it prefers a moist soil it will adapt to almost any soil type and sets seeds with abandon; thus this Asteraceae family member is often seen as a weed instead of the ecologically valuable pollinator plant that it is.

 the flowers are sometimes a lovely pink

The pollen or nectar of the flowers attracts many kinds of insects, including long-tongued bees, short-tongued bees, wasps, flies, butterflies, skippers, beetles, Carpenter bees, Nomadine Cuckoo bees, Green Metallic bees and other Halictine bees, Eumenine wasps, Tachinid flies, and Thick-Head flies. Caterpillars of the Lynx Flower Moth eat the flowers and seed capsules.(source)

 A crab spider hiding in plain sight is ample evidence that pollinators and other insects visit Fleabane.

Each daisy-like flowerhead has 100-300 ray florets that surround a dense head of disk florets

You can let Fleabane naturalize in your lawn or plant it in your garden. Not one to be afraid of colonizing plants, I let this rough and tumble wildflower seed in the lawnette along with Lyreleaf sage, Danthonia spicata and Entireleaf Western Daisy. 

Go ahead, give it a try, you'll make the bees and other pollinators happy and you can always deadhead it before it sets seeds.  Bonus~you'll get more blooms!

xoxogail

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.