Growing California Wildflowers

Arroyo Lupine, Baby Blue-eyes, Purple Owls Clover and Tidy-tips

 

Some of the loveliest wildflowers in the world come from California.  In the 1800’s, our local wildflowers became an overnight sensation when planted in European gardens.   Their unique charm and beauty still enchants gardeners the world over.  To add a special touch to your own garden, consider planting some California native wildflowers.

Most of our native wildflowers are annuals - plants that complete their life cycle in a single growing season.  Local annuals are uniquely suited to our mediterranean climate.  Most sprout with the winter rains, bloom in spring or early summer, then produce seeds and die by the time summer’s heat descends.    A few well-known native wildflowers, like the California Poppy, are really perennials.  They die back to a sturdy root in summer and re-emerge the following spring, allowing them to survive our long, dry summer-fall.

Most annual wildflowers produce abundant seeds, allowing them to reproduce even in our challenging climate. The seeds of most annual wildflowers are good food. Some are still collected, parched and eaten by Native Californians.  They impart their unique flavors to any dish to which they are added.  Birds also relish the nutritious seeds, so wildflowers attract seed-eating birds.  Planting annual wildflowers is a good way to make your garden more life-friendly.

Annual wildflowers can be easily and inexpensively grown from seed.     It’s important to plant California native wildflowers; packets of generic  ‘wildflower seeds’ from many nurseries contain non-natives that often don’t do well here. If you purchase seeds from reputable sources (see below) you’ll know you’re planting true California natives.    
 

Tidy-tips (yellow) and Globe Gilia (purple) in a local garden
 

 
Using Annual Wildflowers in the Garden

Annual wildflowers are extremely adaptable.  Here are a few ideas for ways you might use them in your garden:

 

·         In pots or planters – they make a nice spot of seasonal color

·         In a special wildflower section of the garden

·         Around the edges of a lawn or vegetable garden

·         Between ornamental grasses or around native shrubs

 

 
 

How to Grow Native Wildflowers

Follow these easy steps to grow California native wildflowers:

 

·          Plant seeds either in the ground or in containers.

·          Purchase seed from reputable dealers (see below).   Consider purchasing packets of individual species, then make your own special blend.

·         Plant during the cool, rainy season – December to February in most years.

·          Prepare the soil before planting by gently raking it.  You may also want to spread a 1 inch layer of gravel over soil (prevents birds from eating the seeds).

·          Plant seeds just before a good rain.  You can mix the seeds with dry sand to help you spread them evenly.  One teaspoon of seeds covers about 4-6 square feet.

·          Gently rake in the seeds – don’t bury them (no organic mulch like bark chips)

·          Watch for seedlings to emerge – usually within 2-3 weeks.  Water the soil if it starts to dry out.

·           Keep the soil moist until plants have finished flowering.  Then taper off watering, letting the seeds mature/dry.

·          Collect dry seeds, dry in paper bags and store in a cool dry place for next year – or let plants re-seed naturally.

 

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Easy to Grow California Wildflowers for Home Gardens

Common Name	Scientific Name	Size	Flower Color	Blooms	Light*	Water Zone**	Purchase Seed at (key below)
California/Mustard Primrose	Camissonia californica	1-3 ft	Yellow	Spr	FS	1	2, 3
Purple Clarkia	Clarkia purpurea	2-3 ft	Lavender	Spr-Su	FS/PS	1-2	1, 2
Elegant Clarkia	Clarkia unguiculata	2-5 ft	Pink-purple	Spr-Su	FS/PS	1 to 2-3	1, 2, 3
Chinese Houses	Collinsia heterophylla	1-2 ft	Purple-white	Spr-Su	PS/FSH	1-2	1, 2, 3
Coastal CA Poppy	Eschscholzia californica ssp. californica	< 1 ft	Yellow/Or	Spr-Fall	FS/PS	1 to 2	1, 2, 3
Globe Gilia	Gilia capitata	1-2+ ft	Purple-blue	Spr	FS	1 to 1-2	1, 2, 3
Bird’s Eye Gilia	Gilia tricolor	1-2 ft	Yellow/ Blue	Spr	FS/PS	1 to 1-2	1, 2, 3
Rosilla; Sneezeweed	Helenium puberulum	1-5 ft	Yellow-brown	Su	FS	2-3 to 3	1, 2
Common (Annual) Sunflower	Helianthus annuus	5-8 ft	Yellow	Su-Fall	FS	1-2	1, 2
California Goldfields	Lasthenia californica	< 1 ft	Yellow	Spr	FS/PS	1 to 1-2	2
Coastal Tidy-Tips	Layia platyglossa	1-2 ft	Yellow/ white	Spr	FS	1 to 2-3	1, 2, 3
Miniature Lupine	Lupinus bicolor	< 1 ft	Blue/ white	Spr	FS/PS	1- 2-3	1, 2, 3
Arroyo (Succulent) Lupine	Lupinus succulentus	1-3 ft	Blue-purple	Spr	FS/PS	1 to 1-2	1, 2, 3
Seep Monkeyflower	Mimulus guttatus	1-5 ft	Yellow	W-Spr	FS	2-3 to 3	1, 2, 3
Five-Spot	* Nemophila maculata	1 ft	Purple-white	Spr	FS/PS	2-3 to 3	1, 2, 3
Baby Blue-eyes	Nemophila menziesii	1-2 ft	Blue	Spr-Su	PS/FSH	2-3	1, 2, 3
Purple fiddleneck	Phacelia tanacetifolia	1-3 ft	Purple	Spr-Su	FS/PS	2-3 to 3	1, 2, 3

*Light:  FS=full sun;   PS=part shade;   FSH=full shade

^**Water Zones:  1 = no summer water;    1-2 = very occasional summer water (several times per summer);    2 = let  soil dry out between waterings;      2-3 some regular summer  water (about once a week);     3 = regular watering/moist soil (like a conventional lawn)

 

 

For a more complete list see: http://www.slideshare.net/cvadheim/south-bay-native-plants-annual-wildflower-311

See pictures and gardening information sheets for many California native plants  at: http://nativeplantscsudh.blogspot.com/p/gallery-of-native-plants_17.html

 

Where to Purchase Native Wildflower Seeds  (key to seed sources)

 

1.   Project SOUND Gardening – local South Bay native seeds and seed mixes.  E-mail us for availability at: mothernaturesbackyard10@gmail.com

 

2.   Theodore Payne Foundation (can order seeds on-line): http://store.theodorepayne.org/category/SEED.html)

 

3.   Larner Seeds (order on-line) at: http://www.larnerseeds.com/index.html)

 

 

 

e-mail your wildflower questions to: mothernaturesbackyard10@gmail.com

 

Plant of the Month (January) : Purple Clarkia – Clarkia purpurea ssp. quadrivulnera

January is an exciting time.  Winter rains are stimulating cool-season grasses to produce new leaves.  Some native trees and shrubs (like Ceanothus and Manzanitas) are preparing to bloom.  But one of our favorite January activities is watching the annual wildflowers spring to life.   Some germinate with the first rains.  And some, like our Purple Clarkia, have even produced a few blooms this early in the season.
 

Purple Clarkia (Clarkia purpurea) is a member of the Onagraceae  or Evening Primrose/Willow Herb family.  This family includes a number of lovely flowering plants including garden fuschias, California Fuschia, the Evening Primroses and the Suncups (Camissonia species).  Plants in the family Onagraceae are particularly common in western United States.   Seeds of many Onagraceae were taken to Europe in the 1800’s, where they were incorporated into classic cottage gardens and flowering borders.

 

The genus Clarkia is named in honor of Captain William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition that explored the U.S. Pacific Northwest in the early 1800’s.   The genus is composed almost entirely of annual wildflowers native to temperate western North America.  Purple Clarkia can be found as far north as British Columbia, Canada and as far south as Baja California, Mexico.   Locally, it grew widely from the coastal prairies to the foothills of Los Angeles County.  You can still find native populations on the Palos Verdes Peninsula and in the Santa Monica Mountains.   Like other annual wildflowers, local populations fluctuate widely depending on winter precipitation.  If the rains continue, this should be a good year for wildflowers!

Purple Clarkia is sometimes known by several former scientific names: Clarkia quadrivulnera, Godetia lanata, Godetia purpurea and Godetia quadrivulnera.    Characteristics vary widely across its geographic range, in part explaining the plethora of former species names.  Our local subspecies (quadrivulnera) usually has a pink or magenta splotch on each leaf – but not always.   Confusingly, it is sometimes called Purple Godetia, Purple Fairy-fan, Winecup Clarkia, Winecup Fairy-fan, Small-flowered Godetia, Four-spotted Clarkia and Four-spotted Fairwell-to-Spring.  These common names sometimes refer to several subspecies or to several different  Clarkia species.   Common names can be confusing – that’s one reason to use the scientific name when referring to a plant.

 

 

Purple Clarkia has enchanting flowers that entice many of us to include them in our gardens.   Like most Onagraceae the flowers come in parts of four – four petals, four sepals, etc.  Unlike some in this family, the flowers are open in the daytime and closed at night.  Not surprisingly, Purple Clarkia is primarily insect pollinated and attracts native bees and other day-flying insects.  The stamens (pollen producing part of the flower) are prominently located for easy pollen transfer.  You can see the stamens – their anthers covered in white pollen – in the photograph below.

 

Our local variant of Purple Clarkia (see above) has particularly attractive flowers.  The petals are lovely iridescent shades of purple-pink with the characteristic magenta splotch and irregular outer edges.  The coloration and shape of the petals explains the common name ‘Fairy-fans’.  Children sometimes use the petals as fans for their dolls as well.  Purple Clarkia is a spring bloomer – usually beginning in January or February in our area, but sometimes later.  It makes a lovely cut-flower and adds a pastel accent to spring bouquets and floral arrangements. 

As seen above, Purple Clarkia is an erect annual wildflower that’s 1-2 feet tall. The thin stem may be un-branched or openly branched, usually above the mid-point.    The stems are often tinged with red or purple and may have a few hairs or not.  The leaves are simple, linear to oblong and a soft green color.  The plants have a thin taproot that allows them to access soil water.

Young seedlings of Purple Clarkia

In the wilds, Purple Clarkia grows in clusters of several hundreds to thousands of plants.  Locally, it occurs in sunny, grassy areas on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.   In gardens, Purple Clarkia is often included in wildflower gardens with other California natives.  It adds a nice accent to areas planted in native grasses.  It is a great Spring filler  between shrubs and perennials; it’s particularly useful when newly planted  shrubs are small.   You can even use Purple Clarkia to attract pollinators to your spring vegetable garden and it does great in containers.

Dry seed capsules open along ribs to release dry seeds

 

Purple Clarkia is easy to grow in most gardens.  It likes full or part-sun and needs adequate winter/spring moisture until it finishes flowering.   Like others in its family, the seed pods (capsules) of Purple Clarkia open when dry, releasing thousands of tiny seeds (see above).  You can collect the seeds for next year or just let them re-seed naturally.   To collect the seeds the easy way cut the dried plants at ground level, invert entire plants into a large paper bag and let the seeds drop into the bag.  You can get more seeds by knock the bag firmly on the edge of a table.   Store the seeds in a jar or envelope in a cool, dark place.

For more tips on growing Purple Clarkia see our ‘Growing California Annual Wildflowers’ post (January 2013) or visit: http://www.nbs.csudh.edu/biology/projectsound/native_plants/gallery_c.shtml


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