Attractive annuals 2013 - notes

4/6/2013

Out of the Wilds and Into Your Garden
Attractive Annuals
our most attractive annual
wildflowers & how to use them

C.M. Vadheim and T. Drake
CSUDH & Madrona Marsh Preserve

Madrona Marsh Preserve
October 8, 2013
Gardening with California Native Plants in Western L.A. County
Project SOUND – 2013 (our 9th year)
© Project SOUND © Project SOUND

My Gardening Philosophy – circa 2013 What are
 Complete their entire life cycle in
1. Knowledge is power ‘Annual plants’? a year or less (one growing season)
2. It’s better to understand how something works rather
than to just follow rules  Only the dormant seed bridges
3. It’s easier to work with the physical conditions in a the gap between one generation
garden (soil characteristics, light, etc.) than to try to and the next.
change them dramatically
4. California native plants from the local area are often  Because they only grow a short
http://www.the-philosopher.co.uk/ the best suited for local gardens time, most have an economical
5. Look to Mother Nature and Native Californians for form: short, herbaceous, just
gardening advice enough leaves, etc.
6. Make a garden plan – even tho’ it may change over time
 Some plants can behave as an
7. Choose plants based on their suitability for your needs
annual or a perennial depending on
and garden conditions http://www.whiteflowerfarm.com/87191-product.html#.UV4KJ1Pn9D8

local climatic and geographic
8. Save ‘Heritage’ trees and large shrubs – unless there’s
In the garden, annuals are growing conditions [examples:
a good reason to remove them
particularly useful for providing pepper plants; CA Poppies].
9. Choose plants for their habitat value seasonal color – and food
10. Choose plants for their usefulness (food; dyes; etc.)

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4/6/2013

Schematic representation of Arabidopsis seed development and stages of the life cycle used
It all starts with Pollination and Fertilization Seed development: a complex process
for GeneChip analysis.

Le B H et al. PNAS 2010;107:8063-8070

©2010 by National Academy of Sciences

The mighty seed: a time capsule into the
Notice the last step of future
seed development
 Loss of water: up to 90-  Seed coat (testa) –
95% of water is lost protection

 Important for:  Embryo
 Putting embryo into (and
keeping it in) suspended  Provisions:
animation  Food (cotyledon)
 Keeping the seed  Hormones
protected – hard,  Other stored
protective coat http://generalhorticulture.tamu.edu/hort604/lecturesupplmex07/anatomymorphology.htm chemicals
(enzymes & other)
 That’s why important to let
plants dry out after they
set seeds Everything the seed needs in order to be ready for germination

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4/6/2013

Germination: rapid
The annual lifestyle is a good adaptation
re-animation
to our mediterranean climate
 Uptake of water: imbibation
 Turning on metabolism  Plants are dormant during long dry
 Activating enzymes needed to period – they are in ‘suspended
break down food stores animation’ in the seed
 All this involves many plant
http://images.tutorvista.com/content/feed/tvcs/germination-process-voandzeia.jpeg
hormones; may also involve  The plants can weather particularly
outside signals (light; temp.) dry years – wait for more favorable
rainfall conditions

 Plants grow during the season of
http://prairierosesgarden.blogspot.com/2010_03_01_archive.html abundant soil moisture; fast growth,
timed to rainfall

 Set seed as the soil dries out

http://www.seedbiology.de/images/hormgerm1web.gif
http://5e.plantphys.net/images/ch11/we1104a_s.jpg

Timing is everything… The schedule of local Annual plants
 Seed germination – Fall/Winter
(after the first seasonal rains);
some require spring warmth;
generally quick (1-4 weeks)

 Plant growth – Winter (some)
Spring, Summer (some) – rapid in
warm days of Spring

 Flowering – Spring/Summer (a
very few in early fall)

 Seed production – Late Spring-
Summer

 Death – Spring (some), Summer
(most), Fall (a few)

http://occnps.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/front.jpg

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4/6/2013

But how can I use annual wildflowers in Annuals are often used to add a ‘spot of
my garden? color’

http://www.gardensbygabriel.com/blog/2011/05/09/plant-of-the-month-lupine/
http://homeguides.sfgate.com/companion-plants-annual-flowers-43553.html

http://garden-designs.org/2011/07/04/perennial-garden-design/


Dark background that’s gloomy (or boring) Tidy-tips and Goldfields are old standbys
in spring – need something to liven it up

A little bit of yellow might add
some cheerful ‘sunshine’
http://gardensofpetersonville.blogspot.com/2012/06/little-heat.html


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4/6/2013

But maybe we want something a little The genus Coreopsis: the Tickseeds
bigger that is pure golden yellow
 Scientific name is derived from the
Greek word koris, meaning Bedbug.

 Flowers: usually yellow, toothed tips.

 Primarily native to North America.

 Many cultivars are available for gardens;
used world-wide as ‘yellow daisies’.

 Coreopsis species are used as food plants
by the larvae of some Lepidoptera
species
Family: Asteraceae


The Asteraceae: the sunflowers Asteraceae – two forms of flowers

©2006 Larry Blakely

http://www.anbg.gov.au/PLANTFAM/AUST1F.HTM

 A disk flower, in its most complete form, has five petals fused
http://www.tutorvista.com/content/biology/biology-iii/angiosperm-families/family-asteraceae.php
into a tube, with a tube of five fused anthers inside the petal tube

 The flowers, also called florets, are nearly always clustered  A ray flower (a "petal" of a daisy) is similar, except that some of
into heads, with each subtended by a whorl or whorls of the fused petals extend on one side into a flat strap-like ligule.
modified leaves called bracts (the involucre).  Flower heads may have only ray flowers or disk flowers, or both.

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Asteraceae – reproduction & seeds
Bigelow coreopsis – Coreopsis bigelovii

http://www.anbg.gov.au/PLANTFAM/AUST1F.HTM

 Flowers may be ‘complete’, unisexual or sterile, lacking either or both
"male" and "female" sexual parts. Each functionally "female" flower,
whether ray or disk, has a single inferior ovary with a single ovule.

 If the ovule is fertilized, it will develop into a single seed in a special
dry fruit called an achene.
©2005 Brent Miller


Bigelow coreopsis – Coreopsis bigelovii Bigelow Coreopsis: mostly flowers
 Transverse Ranges (Santa Monica Mtns),
Tehachapi Mountain Area, s Sierra  Size:
Nevada Foothills, Mojave Desert, n  12-18 inches tall
Sonoran Desert  12-18 inches wide
 Open woodlands, grasslands, deserts, dry  Growth form:
gravelly hillsides to about 5000', creosote
 Annual wildflower
bush scrub, joshua tree woodland,
chaparral, pinyon-juniper woodland  Foliage:
http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?609,1008,1009

 Leaves mostly in basal rosette
 Leaves often divided into linear
lobes – likely more substantial in
garden
 Color: varies with water/light
availability
 Leaves used extensively as
raw/cooked vegetable by CA
native desert tribes
©2006 James M. Andre
©2006 Larry Blakely © Project SOUND © Project SOUND

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Flowers are glorious Plant Requirements  Soils:
 Texture: any – coarse in wilds
 Blooms:  pH: any local
 In spring: usually Feb-Mar  Light:
to May in our area
 Full sun to light shade
 Flowers:
 Water:
 In typical ‘sunflower heads’ –
 Winter/spring: to establish
usually one per stalk

 Summer: taper off after
 Both ray & disk flowers
flowering ceases
yellow – disk often a little
darker gold  Fertilizer: none; likes poor soils
 Broad liguled ray flowers
 Attract a wide range of  Other:
insect pollinators  Gravel mulch or none if you
want them to re-seed
 Seeds: dry achenes typical of  Easy from seed – no pre-
sunflowers; wind distributed; treatment
edible (mostly by birds)
© Project SOUND ©2006 Larry Blakely http://xasauantoday.com/category/diablo-range/ © Project SOUND
http://www.hazmac.biz/050221/050221CoreopsisBigelovii.html

Uses for Coreopsis Coreopsis: where ever a little
spring sunlight is needed
 In a desert garden or rock
garden with other desert annuals,
grasses, shrubs

 As an attractive container plant
http://millernursery.com/image/plantPicFiles/SmallWebPics/coreopsisVerticillataM

 And much more
oonbeamS.jpg

©2010 Thomas Stoughton
http://www.ehow.com/info_8306523_do-marigolds-
keep-insects-away.html

With desert plants

http://www.mahoneysgarden.com/perennial/tickseed-
coreopsis-little-sundial

http://www.gardennj.com/images/zagreb1.JPG

http://www.robsplants.com/plants/CoreoAuric
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3335/4606895484_8a18c3a140_z.jpg SOUND
© Project © Project SOUND
http://www.delange.org/DesertCoreopsis/DesertCoreopsis.htm

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4/6/2013

* Common Madia – Madia elegans Yellow Coreopsis combine well with other
bright spring colors
Summer bloomer

© Br. Alfred Brousseau, Saint Mary's College http://wwwrockrose.blogspot.com/2010/05/they-have-to-go.html

http://www.flickriver.com/photos/scs_in_nj/sets/72157604353309858/

We’ve often hyped the ‘blue & gold’ color scheme Mother Nature’s CA wildflower gardens abound
with complementary color schemes
 Blue/purple with yellow/gold
schemes are the most common
 Probably because our flowers
evolved along with their insect
pollinators – many of whom ‘see’
yellows & blues

http://www.humanflowerproject.com/index.php/weblog/comments/feral_flowers_cult
© Project SOUND ured_eyes/ © Project SOUND
http://www.resimsite.com/img144.htm

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Phacelias provide a wide range of purples & blues
* California Bluebell – Phacelia minor

Sticky Phacelia – Phacelia viscida Parry’s Phacelia – Phacelia parryi

©2003 Guy Bruyea
Tansey-leaf Phacelia – Phacelia tanecetifolia
Caterpillar Phacelia – Phacelia cicutaria © Project SOUND © Project SOUND

CA Bluebell: surprisingly large leaves
* California Bluebell – Phacelia minor
 Size:
 S. CA from Santa Monica Mts. to edge  1-2 ft tall
of desert  1-2 ft wide
 Dry disturbed places like burns and  Growth form:
road-sides below 5000', coastal sage
 Herbaceous annual
scrub, chaparral
 Low, dense clump of blue-green,
 AKA: Wild Canterbury Bells; Whitlavia scalloped leaves with branched
http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?4518,4587,4659 flower stalks above

 Foliage:
 Most leaves in basal rosette
 Leaves large – to 4-5 inches
 Leaves toothed, crinkly, oval or
rounded blades borne on long
petioles (leaf stem)
 Stiff glandular trichomes (hairs)
– cause skin rash in some
©2009 Robert Steers

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Flowers are velvety
Delicate-looking – but tough in fact
purple-blue
 Soils:
 Blooms: in spring; usually Mar-  Texture: likes a coarse, well-
May in S. Bay drained soil – can take others
 pH: any local
 Flowers:
 Fantastic rich blue-purple;  Light:
generally no white on petals  Full sun
 Relatively large – to 1 ½ inches  Water:
 Petals fused into a bell-shaped  Winter/spring: keep moist
corolla (petal) tube; fairly while developing
broad for Phacelia – may have  Summer: dry after flowering
a narrower ‘neck’
 Fertilizer: none; likes poor soils
 Really beautiful
 Other: gravel mulch – like in the
 Seeds: many small, hard seeds photograph
© Br. Alfred Brousseau, Saint Mary's College
©2010 Thomas Stoughton © Project SOUND © Project SOUND

CA Bluebell: color & more Choose native annuals for double duty as
 Wonderful massed – alone or ‘pollinator plants’
with contrasting yellow or
white flowers
All other things being equal
 As an attractive pot plant

 On dry slopes or water-wise 1. Choose plants for their
gardens – let it naturalize habitat value

2. Choose plants for their
usefulness (food; dyes;
etc.)

http://nathistoc.bio.uci.edu/plants/Boraginaceae/Phacelia%20minor.htm

http://blog.anniesannuals.com/tag/phacelia-minor/
http://biology.csusb.edu/PlantGuideFolder/PhaceliaMinor/PhaceliaMinorStand.jpg

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Why are Phacelias such good pollinator plants? The tale of two Phacelias

 Many flowers per plant; long
bloom period
 Make it worthwhile for the
pollinators to visit

 Open flower structure (some):
 Nectar accessible to many
types of pollinators

 Abundant nectar production
 Evolved with insect pollinator
species
 Note: many have markings to
attract pollinators to the
nectar (‘nectar lines’)

©2003 Kristin Szabo http://tchester.org/plants/analysis/phacelia/minor_with_spots.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Phaceliaminor.jpg © Project SOUND
© Project SOUND

Parry’s Phacelia – Phacelia parryi Flowers are lovely…

 Waterleaf family (like  Blooms Apr-June in
Baby Blue-eyes) South Bay
 Named for Charles C.
 Flowers bell-shaped,
Parry (1832-1890) –
with very open,
http://www.gardengates.info/Phac.%20par.close.jpg

botanist with the Pacific
spreading petals, borne
Railway Survey
on erect stems
 Grows in S. CA south to
Baja CA  Color: rich purple-blue
with five pure-white
spots, white anthers

http://www.timetotrack.com/jay/phacpar4.htm

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Some CA Bluebell plants appear to have  Introgression with P. parryi;
Conclusion?
characteristics of both Phacelias i.e., some specimens are hybrids
with P. parryi, whereas other
specimens are "pure" P. minor.
 Phacelia minor
 Uniform color – no white spots  It is also possible that this
or streaks simply represents intrinsic
 Long cylindric corolla tube variation within P. minor.
 Phacelia parryi
 rDNA evidence : either
 White spots
hybridization or a recent
 Very short/no corolla tube
divergence between P. parryi
http://tchester.org/plants/analysis/phacelia/minor_with_spots.html

 Often more blue than purple and P. minor
 ‘unusual’ P. minor
 Occur w/in 10 mi. of P. parryi  Take home message:
populations
 Evolution is still occurring
 Always within P. minor
 Role of humans in plant
populations
evolution
 White spots/streaks
 Responsibility of gardeners
 Shorter tube
http://tchester.org/plants/analysis/phacelia/minor_with_spots.html © Project SOUND © Project SOUND

* Desert Bluebells – Phacelia campanularia * Desert Bluebells – Phacelia campanularia
 Mojave Desert & N. and W.
Sonoran Desert of California
 Open dry, sandy or gravelly places
below 4000 ft.


Gary A. Monroe @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database

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4/6/2013

Desert Bluebells – an annual desert wildflower Flowers are a bright,
 Size:
pure blue
 1-2 ft tall
 Blooms: in spring - usually Feb-Apr. in
 1-2+ ft wide our area, but may be later
 Growth form:  Flowers:
 Annual wildflower  Small-medium size (to 1 inch)
 Mounded to somewhat  Bell-shaped – typical for Phacelia
sprawling shape - attractive
 Bright, intense true blue – iridescent
http://www.hortmag.com/article/desertbluebells/

 Stems often red-purple in – difficult to photograph
color
 Seeds:
 Foliage:
 In dry capsules
 Rounded, coarsely-toothed
 Relatively easy – no pre-treatment;
leaves – somewhat like
Heuchera just plant in place in fall/winter –
germinate in spring
 Whole plant hairy/sticky – may
 Serial sow for longer bloom season
cause mild skin allergies, so
wear gloves to handle  Will reseed – but not extensively –
http://www.fireflyforest.com/flowers/1886/phacelia-campanularia-desertbells/
© Project SOUND http://www.delange.org/BlueBells/BlueBells.htm
usually must re-seed © Project SOUND

 Soils: Annual ‘Pollenator Plants’
Plant Requirements  Texture: any well-drained; sandy
& gravelly soils great can be tucked in anywhere
 pH: any local
 Spilling out of pots & planters
 Light:
 Full sun (best) to light shade  Along garden paths – often
short
 Water:
 Winter/spring: need plenty of  Massed for spring color – pair
water during active growth http://back40feet.blogspot.com/2008/06/friday-night-botanical-garden.html
with Tidy-tips or CA Poppy for a
 Summer: occasional deep water real zing!
extends blooming; taper off as
flowering ends  Between native shrubs & sub-
shrubs
 Fertilizer: fine in poor soils, OK
with light fertilizer (like any of our  Mixed with native desert
annual wildflowers) grasses

 Other: seeds need bare soil/light  In a rock or gravel garden
gravel mulch to germinate; require
dim light as germination cue.  Fine in hot places
http://www.theodorepayne.org/mediawiki/index.php?title=Phacelia_campanularia_var._campanulari
a&printable=yes&printable=yes © Project SOUND © Project SOUND

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4/6/2013

Sticky Phacelia – Phacelia viscida
Growing Phacelia is easy

 Soil: any well-drained soil
 pH: any local
 Light: most like full sun to
part-shade
 Water: average needs; can
take irrigation during dry
spells
 Plant fall/winter - be sure
that seeds are lightly covered
Good for shady spots (germinate in darkness or dim
light)
http://home.pi.net/~vries796/plantslides/phac_par.htm

© Project SOUND
© Project SOUND

Other advantages of annual wildflowers: Even the smallest garden has a place for
their small size & adaptability wildflowers

http://queerbychoice.livejournal.com/643809.html?t
hread=4226785

http://www.penick.net/digging/index.php?s=wildflower+center

Annual wildflowers are the ultimate
‘tuck-in plants’
http://www.gardensbygabriel.com/blog/2011/05/09/plant-of-the-month-lupine/
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/215/502812583_c943310b50.jpg

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4/6/2013

There’s something
* Mojave Pincushion – Chaenactis xantiana
refreshing about
purple & white

http://tiltshifttheworld.blogspot.com/2012/04/not-just-belfast-titanic-belfast.html http://www.nihonsun.com/2009/05/22/meiji-jingu-iris-garden/
©2009 Stephen Dowlan


Mojave Pincushion: a petit sunflower
* Mojave Pincushion – Chaenactis xantiana
 Size:
 Desert mountains and
 1 – 1 ½ ft tall
foothills: s. Sierra Nevada,
South Coast Ranges,  1-2 ft wide
Transverse Ranges, Great  Growth form:
Basin Floristic Province, w
 Annual wildflower
Mojave Desert
 Foliage:
 Slopes in Chaparral, Pinyon-
 Leaves mostly in basal rosette
Juniper Woodland, Sagebrush
 Leaves slightly fleshy; deeply
Scrub, between 1400 and
lobed into very narrow
7000 feet segments
 Open, deep, loose sandy  Color blue-green due waxy
(rarely gravelly) soils, scales
 Foliage often dies back before
©2009 Stephen Dowlan or with flowering in wild

© Br. Alfred Brousseau, Saint Mary's College

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4/6/2013

Flowers are pale Plant Requirements  Soils:
 Texture: well-drained best
 pH: any local
 Blooms: in spring usually Mar-
June in western L.A. County  Light:
 Full sun to part-shade
 Flowers:
 Flowers in dense, compact  Water:
heads that look somewhat  Winter/spring: adequate for
©2011 Neal Kramer
like a pincushion development
 Color: white to pale pink –  Summer: none after
hence another common name blooming
‘flesh-color pincushion’
 Cute  Fertilizer: none; likes poor soils
 Seeds:  Other: gravel mulch
 Dry; rather showy
 Wind dispersed

©2012 Jean Pawek

Garden Pincushions
Yellow Pincushion (Chaenactis
 In mixed ‘color bowls’ - as a
contrast plant with other, glabriuscula) – local version
more colorful native blooms
 In a desert garden  Size: 1-2 ft tall; < 1 ft wide
 Tucked into narrow, dry  Blooms:
places in the garden  Spring: usually Mar-May for 2-4 wks
©2010 James M. Andre
 Composite flower:
http://www.callutheran.edu/wf/images/des/des-658.jpg
 Larger flowers to outside
 Smaller inside
 Looks like a pincushion
 Color: bright to golden yellow
 Usually several head per stem
 In wilds are often massed – ‘carpet of
gold’
 Excellent butterfly plant
http://166.78.84.170/taxa/57925-Chaenactis-xantiana http://www.nps.gov/archive/pinn/images/flowers/large/yellowpincushion.jpg

16

Attractive annuals 2013 - notes

Attractive annuals 2013 - notes

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