Native Plant Gardening for All Seasons

Linda R McMahan, Associate Professor Emeritus, Department of Horticulture, Oregon

State UniversityAugust 6, 2016

Photos © by the author except as noted

Why and How to Cover all Seasons?

• Have something to appreciate all year for a more satisfying garden

• Plan in advance!– Look for plants with multiple seasonal interest– Know before you buy to get the best all-around coverage

• Keep it local for best results, expand with experience to statewide, region-wide, or North American

Here’s an Example Black twinberry, Lonicera involucrata

• Large (12-16ft) deciduous shrub native to many PNW habitats and provides cover for birds and other animals

• Blooms spring and early summer

• Summer berries in pairs• Wildlife use berries as food

and nectar-hummingbirds love the yellow flowers

• Occurs naturally throughout much of Oregon

Overall, What do We Experience and Expect from native plants?

• Color and subtlety!• Visiting wildlife – birds,

hummingbirds, bees, salamanders and so on

• Deer resistant plants for fenceless areas if desired

• Lower needs generally for fertilizer, garden chemicals, and water

Red flowering currant for early color and hummingbirds, wild bleeding heart for groundcover and color in the shade and Oregon iris for color and deer resistance

Finding Native Plants that Grow Where You Live

• Check websites for local recommendations from SWCD, cities, county governments, and so on

• Connect with others through a Native Plant Society of Oregon near you

• Check out species distribution on the online Oregon Flora Project housed at OSU

Goatsbeard, mule’s ear, rabbitbrush

Let’s start with Summer!What natives are good right now?

• Bright flowers of the sunflower family for visual interest and pollinators

• Flowering shrubs• Berries and fruits for

wildlife and sometimes the gardener

• Groundcovers to support soil and hide fragile or small creatures

Oregon sunshine, salal, wood sorrel

Oregon sunshine, wooly sunflower, Eriophyllum lanatum

• Bright flowers provide nectar• Drought hardy• Native to Oregon’s east and

west sides• Shorter stature and grayish

leaves on eastside• Westside plants generally

taller, greener• Great for general garden,

rock garden, full sun

Douglas aster, Aster subspicatus

• Sunflower family colorful perennial, 1-4 ft

• Reliable, spreads slowly,• Will grow in many

regions, native mostly west and in the Cascades

• Blooms July/August• Attracts bees and other

pollinators

Mock orange, Philadelphus lewsii

• Medium high shrub best in part-shade

• Native statewide but habitat may vary

• Bright white fragrant flowers in early summer

• Multi-stemmed• Good source of nectar

Oceanspray, Holodiscus discolor

• Tall shrub for woodland edge, also full sun

• Drought hardy• Blooms mid-summer• Deer resistant!

Baneberry, Actaea rubra• Delicate understory plant

in western forests• Seeds spread by birds that

eat the berries

• Caution: OK for most birds but not for people. Don’t plant if you are concerned about pets or children eating the berries

Wild strawberry, Fragaria vesca

• Of all native strawberries, this is the best one for shade

• Delicious small berries for wildlife

• Loosely covers ground, prefers shade, spreads by runners

• Butterfly host plant

Wood sorrel, Oxalis oregana

• Spreading groundcover for shade/part-shade

• Look for white or pink-flowered forms. Pink flowered type spreads less slowly and has larger leaves

• Shelter for salamanders, frogs, insects

Rosy spirea, Spiraea splendens (densiflora)

• From Oregon’s higher mountain ranges but grows at lower elevations

• Flowers July/August• Attractive pink clusters• Butterfly host plant• Small, usually 2-4 ft

Rabbitbrush, Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus

• Native to Oregon’s eastside

• Blooms late summer• Bright yellow flowers

and drought tolerance make it a good shrub for desert or other dry areas

Skunkbrush sumac Rhus aromatica (R. trilobata),

• Related to poison oak but is generally a fine garden plant

• Native primarily SW Oregon but can grow statewide

• Small to medium shrub with berries

Photos Clint Shock, Malheur Experiment Station, Oregon State University

Autumn

• Fall foliage of course• Nuts and seeds for

wildlife• Late blooming summer

flowers• Wildlife watching as

squirrels and birds look for food, migration begins

Oregon white oak, native hazelnut, vine maple

Oregon white oak, Quercus garryana

• Large iconic tree of western Oregon

• Shelters many kinds of wildlife

• Acorns and insect galls provide winter interest

Vine maple, Acer circinatum

• Tall multi-stemmed shrub with spring flowers and sometimes beautiful fall foliage

• Smaller samaras are food for wildlife

• Host for native butterflies

Big-leaf maple, Acer macrophyllum

• Large tree valued for wildlife

• Hosts mosses and ferns on the trunk and branches

• Yellow fall color• Samara type fruits and a

wildlife favorite

Winter: Time for subtlety

• Focus on lingering berries and evergreen foliage

• Lichen on trees swell and grow

• If you are lucky you may see a slime mold!

Snowberry and evergreen huckleberry

Snowberry Symphoricarpos albus

• Small/medium shrub, shade or part sun

• Tolerates drought well• White berries in winter

help sustain birds until spring

• Soft bluish foliage is a garden asset

Focus on foliage

• Appreciate evergreen foliage of some native plants

• Some good choices are evergreen huckleberry, blueblossom, manzanita, Oregon grape, myrtle

Pictured: evergreen huckleberry, blueblossom, long-leaf Oregon grape, myrtle

Osoberry, Oemleria cerasiforis

• Earliest native shrub to bloom!

• Deciduous tall shrub/small tree for shade to part-shade

• Native to western Oregon

Currants, Ribes species

• Ribes sanguineum, native to westside

• Ribes aureum, native to eastside

• The westside Ribes sanguineum blooms late winter, and the golden ribes, Ribes aureum, blooms spring

Lichen and Mosses

• With fall rains, lichens and ferns swell and begin to grow

• When leaves have fallen, lichens and mosses are often at their best

Slime molds• Several kinds of these

decomposers grow in late winter /early spring when the air and soil and moist and dead plant material is on the ground

• Once found, watch them and catch the fruiting/spore production phase before they disappear for another year

Good Time to Practice ID from Twigs

• Winter Twigs: A Wintertime Key to Deciduous Trees and Shrubs of Northwestern Oregon and Western Washington, Revised Edition

• Helen M Gilkey and Patricia Packard

• OSU Press

Spring!• Early delicate wildflowers and

early shrubs• New leaves emerge on

deciduous trees• Ferns emerge or break

dormancy• Many groundcovers bloom or

spread at this time• Local plant sales and

nurseries may feature Oregon natives—they need not be blooming if you know what you want Silk tassel, sword fern, vine maple,

inside-out flower

Vanilla leaf, Achlys triphylla

• One of many delicate spring blooming groundcovers for shade

• This one prefers moist soil

Spring queen, Synthyris reniformis

• Small delicate woodland plant that blooms early in woodland settings

• Prefers shade

California black oak, Quercus kellogii

• Native to Southwestern part of the state and south

• Deciduous but provides summer shade and shelter

Silk tassel, Garrya elliptica

• Tall shrub with leathery leaves native to the south coast

• Cascading inflorescences of male of female flowers

• Provides shelter and early garden interest

Fremont silk tassel, Garrya fremontii

• Medium shrub found inland in southwestern Oregon and in the mountains

• Similar to the coastal silk tassel but shorter stature and smooth leaves

Oregon iris, Iris tenax

• Most widely available of native iris

• Shades of blue, occasionally white forms

• Deer resistant as are most or all iris

Maidenhair fern, Adiantum aleuticum

• Gracious fan-shape fronds with spores on backside near edge

• Great ornamental near water or as a woodland accent

Umbrella plant, Darmera peltata

• Grows near water in nature, needs moisture in a garden

• Spreads slowly by rhizomes

• Flowers emerge before foliage

• Large leaves add garden interest

Inside-out flower, Vancouveria hexandra

• Deciduous groundcover with yellow fall foliage and limey green leaves of emerging plants

• Some other native species are evergreen

Pacific rhododendron, Rhododendron macrophyllum

• Native to coast and mountains

• Requires additional irrigation away from native habitat

• Tall shrub to 30 ft in natural habitat

Learning More

• Web searches. Look for .gov, .edu and .org sites - .com sites vary greatly

• Connect with others-Native Plant Society of Oregon chapters, Soil and Water Conservation District sales

Small native plant garden in Gleneden Beach

Online Information• Mid-Snake River Watershed Vegetation Database

http://www.malag.aes.oregonstate.edu/wildflowers/ Malheur Experiment Station

• https://catalog.extension.oregonstate.edu/sites/catalog/files/project/pdf/ec1577.pdf Gardening with Oregon Native Plants West of the Cascades. Written by Linda R McMahan

• Gardening with native plants information page, Yamhill County Extension: includes fact sheets photos and other resources

• http://extension.oregonstate.edu/yamhill/native-plant-gardening/feed Native Plants and Trees of Oregon: Low Maintenance Native Plants to Conserve Water, Help Pollinators, OR Department of Forestry https://www.oregon.gov/ODF/Documents/AboutODF/NativeTreesPlants.pdf

More online information• Backyard habitat certification program information sheet and

resources https://backyardhabitats.org/resources/native-plants/ • Plants of the Rogue Valley, North Mountain Park Nature Center,

Ashland, Oregon http://www.ashland.or.us/Files/PlantsBookletWeb1-3-13.pdf

• City of Beaverton, Native Plant Fact Sheets http://www.beavertonoregon.gov/1224/Native-Plant-of-the-Month

• Plants for Pollinators in Oregon, Natural Resources Conservation Service http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcs142p2_041919.pdf

• Landscape Plants site at Oregon State University, Native and Naturalized Woody Plants of Oregon http://oregonstate.edu/dept/ldplants/native-or.htm

Yet more online information• Oregon Flora Project housed at Oregon State University.

Plant identification, geographic distribution and photographs. http://www.oregonflora.org/ Interactive gardening guide at http://www.oregonflora.org/gardening.php

• Native Plant Society Of Oregon. Using Native Plants for Gardening. http://www.npsoregon.org/landscaping1.html

• Plant Native, Plants of Idaho, Eastern Oregon, and Eastern Washington. http://www.plantnative.org/rpl-imw.htm

• Metro. Native Plants for Willamette Valley Yards http://www.oregonmetro.gov/sites/default/files/native_plants_for_willamette_valley_yards_booklet.pdf