Perfect Perennials - Notes

1/6/2013

Out of the Wilds and Into Your Garden
Perfect Perennials
California Native Perennials for a
Colorful Garden

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

Madrona Marsh Preserve
Gardening with Western L.A. County Native Plants April 7 & 11, 2012
Project SOUND – 2012 (our 8th year)
© Project SOUND © Project SOUND

So darned many perennials – where to begin? Our challenge today: the maturing garden

We’ll be considering CA native herbaceous
perennials in the next few classes
© Project SOUND
Time to assess what’s missing
© Project SOUND

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1/6/2013

What is a perennial? Herbaceous
 A perennial plant or simply
perennial (Latin per, "through",
perennials
annus, "year") is a plant that
lives for more than two years.  Live more than 1 year
The term is often used to
differentiate a plant from  Have soft/succulent above-
shorter lived annuals and ground foliage
biennials.
 Usually are medium to small
 Technically, perennials include: size - < 3-4 ft
 Woody plants  Have a dormant period –
 Sub-shrubs often die back to the
 Herbaceous perennials ground during that period
 Bulbs
 Ferns http://www.flickr.com/photos/eastbaywilds/6083877815/

 Perennial grasses
Wild Ginger - Asarum caudatum
http://howdone.info/hd-shade-perennial-flowers-for-colorado © Project SOUND © Project SOUND

What is the difference between Herbaceous perennials usually have a
herbaceous perennials & sub-shrubs? dormant period
 Perennial sub-shrubs:  Drought-induced
 Local S. CA herbaceous
 Part-woody; woody part extends at perennials like Diplacus
least partway up the stem
 Plant goes dormant and
 Usually don’t die back all the way – dies back in summer
re-sprout from wood
 Cold-induced
 Often the ‘juicy parts’ are eaten  Usually plants from
back in the wilds – but not in our colder climates than ours
gardens; that’s why we have to cut – N. CA; S. CA mountains
them back ourselves in the fall
What happens when we grow  Plant goes dormant in
 Some S. CA native plants are these plants in our local gardens late fall/winter
difficult to categorize – continuum – and don’t have drought- or
between herbaceous & woody cold-induced dormancy?

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1/6/2013

Native herbaceous perennials in S. CA Herbaceous perennials: might enhance
gardens may be a bit different, but… our maturing garden

So, you go to your favorite
source of inspiration …
© Project SOUND http://www.thisoldyard.net/tag/books-about-trees/ © Project SOUND

…and feel like you fell These clearly are not
down the rabbit hole ‘New California
Gardens’…

http://www.redcedargardens.com/class/gardening-with-suzi-30/

http://www.hilltowntreeandgarden.com/portfolio-cottage-garden-goshen-stone-
pathways.html

…but they are sort of
pretty and interesting

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1/6/2013

How do we apply the inspiration from Where do herbaceous perennials fit into
‘non-California’ perennial gardens to our the ‘New California Garden’ design?
own gardens?
 The ‘perennial bed’ has been
out of fashion for a while – but
that’s changing (as the new
books suggest)
 The classical perennial bed is
http://www.mjmgardendesign.com/consult2.html
much more suited to colder
climates than ours
http://www.landscaperesource.com/articles/5-tips-designing-california-
native-gardens.htm

 It’s difficult to build an entire
bed/garden around just CA
native perennials – they just
aren’t ‘backbone plants’
http://www.gardenvisit.com/garden/salutation_garden

Native herbaceous perennials can be And that’s where the new books on perennial
used in several ways in our gardens gardens can be a source of inspiration

 Use them as filler plants
 In a new garden – until the
larger woody plants grow
 In mature gardens – to fill
gaps or ‘difficult’ places

 Use them as ‘fitted plants’
that provide specific
additions to the mature
garden – the plants are
carefully chosen for their
attributes

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1/6/2013

What can herbaceous perennials bring to Lessons from the new perennial garden
the garden? books (for the New CA Garden)

 Flower color 1. Learn to ‘read the pictures’ –
what is it I like about the
 Specific foliage attributes – colors, feel of this garden?
shapes, textures

 Sun and (especially) shade tolerance 2. Try to ‘capture the spirit’ -
 Habitat value: particularly food
not duplicate the plants
(nectar, pollen, seeds, even foliage)
3. Take the time to choose the
 Attractants for beneficial insects right native plant for the job
 Food & medicinal plants
4. Choose ‘value added’ native
 Other: dyes, fiber, scents
plants that still capture the
spirit of the image you love

Our mission: find the perfect perennials
for this shady garden

http://www.gardenlady.com/favorites_2004.html

http://www.anniesannuals.com/plt_lst/lists/search/lst.srch.asp?prodid=1055&sr
ch_term=tellima

http://allanbecker-gardenguru.squarespace.com/journal/2012/1/12/plant-a-perennial-garden-
Delicate bloom spikes – succulent leaves
© Project SOUND that-flowers-for-eight-months-a-boo.html © Project SOUND

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1/6/2013

Heucheras are only one possibility
Saxifragaceae - The Saxifrage Family
 ~ 1250 species in 80 genera

 Found worldwide, many from
northern temperate regions.

 Mainly perennial herbs and
shrubs, some evergreen, with only
a few annuals or small trees.

 Includes many common garden
plants;
 Hydrangea
 Astilbe
 Bergenia
 Heuchera
 Escallonia

* Fringe Cups – Tellima grandiflora * Fringe Cups – Tellima grandiflora
 Central to N. CA north to
AK, MT, including coastal
areas

 Cool, moist woods & rocky
places below 5000 ft.

 Redwood Forest, Mixed
http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_cpn.pl?TEGR2 Evergreen Forest, Yellow
Pine Forest

© 2007 Matt Below
© 2003 Craig Smith

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1/6/2013

Fringe-cups: a woodland plant Flowers are enchanting
 Size:
 1-2 ft tall – flowers to 3 ft  Blooms: spring - usually April-
May in S. Ca
 spreading 2-4 ft wide
 Flowers:
 Growth form:
 Like Heuchera – but fancier;
 Herbaceous perennial
fringed petals
 Mounded – like Heuchera
 Start pale, age dark pink
 Foliage:  Long bloom season – flowers
open in succession
 basal clump of toothed,
shallowly-lobed, rounded,  Sweet fragrance
hairy, long-stalked, dark green  Hummingbirds adore them
leaves
 Leaves, twigs, and seeds  Seeds: tiny – like fine pepper
inside fleshy berries are all
 Vegetative reproduction:
poisonous if eaten, and
spreads by thick underground
potentially fatal to small © 2007 Matt Below

rhizomes
© 2004, Ben Legler:
child, animal
© Project SOUND © 2007 Neal Kramer © Project SOUND

 Soils: Fringe-cups: perennial delight
Plant Requirements  Texture: most
 pH: any local, though likes  Groundcover for shady moist
slightly acidic, well-drained spots – under pine or
redwood trees
 Light:
 North-facing exposures
 Light shade to quite shady
 Mixed beds
 Typical woodland plant
 Rain garden or pond edges
 Water: http://www.alpinegardensociety.net/competitions/online-
show/2009/view+of+a+grouping+of+Alpine+plants+in+a+garden/606/

 Winter: supplement in dry
spells
 Summer: regular water (Zone
2-3 to 3); older plants may
tolerate Zone 2

 Fertilizer: likes organic soils;
amendments/compost fine

 Other: use organic mulch

© 2008 Steve Matson © Project SOUND http://www.anniesannuals.com/plt_lst/lists/general/lst.gen.asp?prodid=1055
© Project SOUND
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Tellima_grandiflora

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1/6/2013

‘Forest Frost’ for this shady garden

 Has variegated leaves –
otherwise no different
from straight species
http://www.rainyside.com/plant_gallery/perennials/
Tellima_grandifloraForestFrost.html

© Project SOUND © 2007 Matt Below © Project SOUND
http://www.perennials.com/plants/tellima-grandiflora-forest-frost.html

Something a little taller, bolder – with Common Cowparsnip – Heracleum maximum
white flowers to brighten the area

http://www.hilltowntreeandgarden.com/portfolio-ashfield.html

http://naturalmidwestgarden.com/archives/1090

Are their any choices that would also attract
butterflies? George G. Hawxhurst © California Academy of Sciences


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1/6/2013

Common Cowparsnip – Heracleum maximum The Apiaceae – Carrot Family
 Throughout continental U.S.  Formerly called Umbelliferae
except the Gulf Coast; locally in
the San Bernardino Mtns  Commonly known as carrot or parsley
 In a variety of habitats including family
woodlands, forest openings,
 Mostly aromatic plants with hollow
grasslands, and riparian areas
(wet meadows, stream terraces,
stems.
alluvial benches, floodplains, and
 Large (16th largest flowering plant
stream and lake margins.
http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_cpn.pl?HEMA80 family) - more than 3,700 species/
434 genera

 Includes many well known plants:
 Angelica
 Anise, caraway, coriander/cilantro,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Apiaceae_Pimpinella_anisum.jpg
cumin, dill, fennel
 Carrot, celery, parsley, parsnip
Many make excellent habitat
plants for home gardens  Hemlock, lovage, Queen Anne's Lace
Charles Webber © California Academy of Sciences

Common Parsnip is ‘back of the bed’ big Flowers light up
shady areas
 Size:
 3-8+ ft tall  Blooms: spring/summer usually
 2-4 ft wide May-July

 Growth form:  Flowers:
 Herbaceous perennial; winter  Small and white
deciduous  Sweetly scented – many
 All parts large, robust butterflies are attracted
 Stems succulent, hollow  In dense to more open
umbels – like a starburst –
 Foliage: typical of the family
 Medium green
 Leaves very large, coarsely
 Seeds:
toothed & lobed – sort of  Flat, ribbed seeds typical
like Acanthus leaves for the family

 Roots: stout taproot and/or  Vegetative reproduction: ??
© 2005 Robert Sivinski
fibrous http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Heracleum_lanatum_07269.JPG
http://www.alaska-in-pictures.com/twins-exploring-108-pictures.htm

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1/6/2013

Common Parsnip  Soils:
 Texture: well-drained best – but
Deadheading  What is deadheading?
Likes water adaptable Perennials  Removing spent flowers/seed heads after
 pH: any local except very alkali the plant stops flowering

 Clipthe stalk back to the first set of
 Light:
healthy leaves below the flower stalk;
 Part-shade best leave the clippings as mulch/food
 Takes over with full sun & lots of
water  Why deadhead?
 To make the plant look more attractive
 Water:
 Winter: supplement in dry years  To prolong the bloom season/encourage a
 Summer: likes moist soil second bloom season

 For many native perennials, and a few
 Fertilizer: adaptable; does well in
shrubs, a decent deadheading may be all
amended soils
the pruning they need! Plants that have a
woody base but produce lots of lush growth
 Other: Always wear gloves when cutting,
each season, such as Monkeyflowers and
breaking stems – the juices of all parts Penstemon seem to respond especially well to
contain a phototoxin that can act on
http://www.gapphotos.com/imagedetails.asp?imageno=47016
this technique.
contact with skin and exposure to
Gary A. Monroe @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database
ultraviolet light © Project SOUND
 Must I deadhead? no © Project SOUND

Big habitat plant Our mission: find the perfect perennials
 Large filler plant in shady areas for this shady garden
 Woodland gardens
 Shady slopes
 Butterfly gardens
 Pond/poolside, other moist areas
http://camissonia.blogspot.com/2011/04/spring-has-spring-despite-schizo.html  Medicinal uses

© 2004, Ben Legler


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1/6/2013

* CA Lomatium – Lomatium californicum * CA Lomatium – Lomatium californicum
 Central & Northern CA from ];
Ventura and Kern Cos to S. OR

 Wooded or brushy slopes to
5500', chaparral and foothill
woodlands

http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?329,426,428

J. E.(Jed) and Bonnie McClellan © California Academy of Sciences

CA Lomatium: shrubby perennial Flowers are pretty
 Size:
 2-5 ft tall  Blooms: spring-summer; usually
May-July
 4-5 ft wide
 Flowers:
 Growth form:
 Typical for the carrot family
 Many, small yellow flowers
 Shrubby-looking; clumped © 2007 Matt Below

 In a rather open umbel
 Dies back to short
stem/root in drought  Flowers attract a wide range
of insect pollinators,
 Foliage: including butterflies
 Usually blue-green
 Seeds:
 Looks like celery – and
 Flat, winged seed – typical of
smells like it too!
Carrot family
 Larval food – Anise
 If growing from seed, rinse
Swallowtail
several times in water –
 Roots: taproot stout, thickened takes several days
© 1998 Dean Wm. Taylor © Project SOUND © Project SOUND
© 2009 Vernon Smith

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Garden uses for
Plant Requirements  Soils:
 Texture: any well-drained
Lomatiums
 pH: any local  Accent plant – dry shade
 Light:  In a mixed planting with
 Part-shade; morning sun or grasses, annuals
dappled shade best  In dry parts of the
vegetable/medicinal garden
 Water:
 Winter: adequate
© Br. Alfred Brousseau, Saint Mary's College

 Summer: let plants dry out
after flowering

 Fertilizer: none; likes poor soils

 Other: cut back almost to
ground in fall (or whenever you
can’t take the dead branches any
more!)

© Project SOUND http://www.baynatives.com/plants/Lomatium-californicum/ http://jay.timetotrack.com/ccal/lomatca2.htm © Project SOUND
© 2010 Jean Pawek

Lomatiums:  Spring leaves, stems and roots eaten

useful plants
raw or cooked as greens We’ll introduce some other great habitat
 Leaves used as seasoning : perennials in the next few months
 Pick it before it blooms for a more
even, mellow flavor, or during or after
the bloom for a stronger flavor.
 Shade dry it in a warm spot with good
ventilation, turning the leaves over
every day or two. The flavor resembles
celery.

 Medicinal
 Root chewed for sore throat; dried
root smoked or decoction of roots
taken for colds – makes at least 4
compounds with antibacterial action
 Used as poultice for rheumatism Angelica hendersonii
http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/carr/ofp/lom_cal.htm
Lomatium utriculatum
Native CA hunters chewed plant  Ceremonial uses
to conceal their scent when
hunting

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1/6/2013

In another part of our shady backyard… * California Hemp – Hoita macrostachya

© 2009 Lynn Watson

http://knechts.net/weblog/post/270/

* California Hemp – Hoita macrostachya Characteristics of CA Hemp
 Western CA (except Great  Size:
Central Valley)  4-6 ft tall
 4-6 ft wide
 Locally Long Beach, LA River,
Santa Monicas, San Gabriels  Growth form:
 Wetland-riparian between 0  Erect to sprawling
and 5000 feet; in many plant
 Looks like a large shrub, but
http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_cpn.pl?HOMA4 communities (Yellow Pine dies back in fall
Forest, Foothill Woodland,
Chaparral, Valley Grassland,  Foliage:
Coastal Prairie)  Medium to blue-green
 Leaves compound (3-part),
 ho-IT-tay – Maidu name for
sparse on stems
this genus
 Roots: nitrogen-fixing (nodules)
 AKA: Psoralea
© 2012 Aaron Arthur

© 1994 Lee Dittmann http://sbwildflowers.wordpress.com/wildflowers/fabaceae/hoita/hoita-macrostachya/

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Plant Requirements  Soils:
Flowers are fantastic
 Texture: just about any
 Blooms: spring/summer usually  pH: any local
May-July in S. CA
 Light:
 Flowers:  Best in light- to part-shade
 On a club-like stalk that
 Water:
elongates
 Winter: fine with flooding;
 Flowers pea-like
supplement if needed
 Color is lovely: shades of
 Summer: regular water (Water
purple/pink/magenta
Zone 2-3); taper off after
 Beautiful contrasts – flowers blooming
& foliage
 Fertilizer: not picky; likes poor
 Seeds: soils but OK with some fertilizer,
 Bean-like amendments
 In hairy, pea-like pods
 Other: cut off old, dead branches
in late fall
© 2003 Michael Charters
http://www.researchlearningcenter.org/bloom/mobile/species/Hoita_macrostachya.htm

Garden uses for Fall/Winter tasks: native herbaceous
 As a soil stabilizer along a perennials
 In general, these plants are
sunny stream, in a marsh or at
the ponds edge. low maintenance: properly
placed they come back year
 As an accent plant for shady after year
parts of garden

 Plant near or around trees
 Many need cutting
back/removing dead
© 2009 Lynn Watson © 2003 Michael Charters

such as alder, sycamore, box
elder, and dogwood for a material in fall/winter
woodland garden retreat
 Be sure you know which
 Practical uses: roots perennials need to be
 Fibers
handled with care:
 Yellow dye
 Eaten (raw or cooked)  Toxicities
 Pulverized for salve/poultice  Rashes/allergies
for sores, skin ulcers

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1/6/2013

Why do the perennials Now a little something low to fill in…
produce such interesting
chemicals?
 Plants in the genus Hoita produce
furanocoumarins;

 These substances can cause a
serious photosensitive rash in
some people

 Precautions
 Wear gloves, long sleeves
 Be careful not to get plant juices
on skin – wash off immediately if
you do with soap & water
 Always wash skin and clothes
after pruning
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hoita_macrostachya_(PSor
alea_macrostachya)_Edwards's_Bot._Reg._21.1769.1836.jpg

Native Honeysuckles make good * Orange Honeysuckle - Lonicera ciliosa
groundcovers (as well as vines) for shade


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We could use Woodmints (Stachys spp.) Now a little something low to fill in…

http://www.northcoastgardening.com/2012/01/perennial-plant-2012-jack-frost-brunnera/

* Creeping Leather-root – Hoita orbicularis * Creeping Leather-root – Hoita orbicularis
 California Floristic Province
(except Great Central Valley) S.
to Baja

 Locally: very occasionally in San
Gabriels – more common in San
Bernardino Mtns
http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_IJM.pl?tid=28327
 Many plant communities including
Yellow Pine Forest, Foothill
Woodland, Chaparral, Valley
Grassland up to 4-5000‘ ft
elevation

 In moist places: meadows, stream
sides, moist hillsides, pond edges,
seeps
© 1995 Lee Dittmann

© Project SOUND http://jay.timetotrack.com/socal/lethrc.htm © Project SOUND

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The flowers & Creeping Leather-root: it creeps (of course)
 Size:
leaves give it away  < 1 ft tall
 1-3 ft wide
 Growth form:
 Proud member of the Pea
Family - Fabaceae  Winter-dormant
 Prostrate habit
 Foliage:
 Leaves a trefoil – like a giant
clover (2-4” across)
 Edible (young); used to fevers
 Roots: N-fixing (nodules); produce
yellow dye

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hoita_orbicularis_(Psoralea_orb
icularis)_Edwards%27s_Bot._Reg._23._1971._1837..jpg © 2012 Jean Pawek http://www.laspilitas.com/nature-of-california/plants/psoralea-orbicularis

Easy plant in the  Soils:
Flowers:clover on steroids  Texture: most
right place  pH: any local except > 8.0
 Blooms: spring - usually May-
June in western L.A. county  Light:
 Part-sun to shade
 Flowers:  Good under trees or N-facing
 On long spikes – up to 2-3 exposures
ft long; flowers open up
sequentially  Water:
 Each of the many flowers is  Winter: fine with extra winter
up to 1” long, pea-like, and water
generally a shade of light  Summer: regular water keeps it
to medium purple in color. looking best: Zone 2 to 3
 Very showy for a ground-
cover – like the Woodmints  Fertilizer: not picky; OK with a
little fertilizer, compost, organic
 Seeds: in a small, hairy pea-like mulch
pod
 Other: cut back old (dead/dying)
foliage in fall
© 2011 Barry Breckling © Project SOUND © 2011 Barry Breckling © Project SOUND

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Creeping Leather-root works And that’s not all…
well in shade gardens
 As a groundcover – alone or mixed
 In rain gardens, infiltration swales
 In pots and planters (incl. ‘mini-bogs’)
 On slopes
 Shady areas in a butterfly garden
 Edges of vegetable or medicinal
garden

© 2011 Barry Breckling

© 2012 Jean Pawek © Project SOUND © Project SOUND
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hoitaorbicularis.jpg
http://www.laspilitas.com/nature-of-california/plants/psoralea-orbicularis

Round leaved boykinia – Boykinia rotundifolia Round leaved boykinia – Boykinia rotundifolia
 endemic to southern California,
where it grows in shady forested
areas near streams in the
mountains

 Locally: Santa Monica Mtns
(Malibu Cyn); more common in San
http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?7088,7093,7096 Gabriels

 Boykinia:
 Dr. Samuel Boykin (1786-1848), an
eminent field botanist - did the
majority of his collecting in
Georgia.
 He was one of the many collectors
who sent significant numbers of
plant samples to John Torrey and
© 2011 Neal Kramer
Asa Gray
© 2008 Thomas Stoughton

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Boykinia: woodsy & drapey  Size:
Flowers are curious
 1-2 ft tall
 1-2 ft wide
 Blooms: late spring/summer;
 Growth form: usually May-July in our gardens
 Flowers:
 Upright or vine-like –
 Very tiny – plant where you
depends on the conditions
be able to see them
 Evergreen with water
 White
 Spreads via underground
 In dense ‘sprays’ along the
stems (rhizomes)
long (to 5 ft), thin flowering
 Foliage: stalks
 Medium green ; may be hairy  Would make an interesting
addition to floral
Leaves rounded, irregularly
© 2011 Robert A. Hamilton
 arrangement
toothed – spread out along
stems  Seeds:
 Roots: fibrous  Many, small seeds in rounded
capsule
© 2003 Michael Charters
© 2011 Neal Kramer http://www.crug-farm.co.uk/Content/Plants/Boykinia(Saxifragaceae).htm
© 2008 Thomas Stoughton

 Soils:
Boykinia in the garden
S. CA Woodlands
 Texture: just about any; well-  As an accent plant in shady areas,
drained best around ponds/pools
 pH: any local  Massed as an evergreen
 Light: groundcover; woodsy look that
 Part-shade to fairly shady
fine under trees, near lawns
 Flowers best in dappled sun or  As an interesting pot plant on
bright shade, under trees shady porches

 Water:
 Winter: supplement is needed
 Summer: likes regular water –
Zone 2-3 or 3

 Fertilizer: not too particular; fine
with humus and light fertilizer
© 2005 Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area

 Other: use an organic mulch
© 2003 Michael Charters http://www.researchlearningcenter.org/bloom/species/B
© Project SOUND http://plants.ritchiefeed.com/NetPS- oykinia_rotundifolia.htm © Project SOUND
Engine.asp?CCID=31090003&page=pdp&PID=836
6

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One more bit of inspiration: compound leaves * Redwood Sorrel – Oxalis oregana

Robert Potts © California Academy of Sciences
http://brahma-canopy.blog.hr/2011/10/1629568372/perennial-shade-gardens-perennial-shade.html

The Oxalidaceae: the Wood Sorrel family The genus Oxalis contains
some real bad boys
 Small family of eight genera
 Two members of the Oxalis genus in
 Herbaceous plants, shrubs and particular have given it a bad name.
small trees  O. pes-caprae, known by the common
name Bermuda buttercup (even though
 The great majority of the 900 Oxalis pes-caprae
it comes from South Africa) is known
species in the genus Oxalis (wood to take over a garden. When
sorrels). pioneering California botanist Lester
Roundtree was asked how to deal with
 Members of this family typically O. pre-caprae, she replied, "You move.“
have:
 Divided leaves  O. corniculata - creeping woodsorrel,
also called Procumbent Yellow-sorrel
 Leaflets showing "sleep
or Sleeping Beauty, is a somewhat
movements", spreading open in light
delicate-appearing, low-growing Oxalis
and closing in darkness.
that has become a weed world-wide
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Oxalis_corniculata

Oxalis corniculata

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* Redwood Sorrel – Oxalis oregana Redwood Sorrel: a sweet little creeper
 Central/North coast up to WA  Size:
state (coastal and Cascades)  ~ 1 ft tall
 2-4 ft wide, spreading
 Moist conifer forests (Redwood
Forest, Douglas-Fir Forest)  Growth form:
between 0 and 3300 feet  Herbaceous perennial
 Mounded, spreading
 AKA Oregon Oxalis
http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?5527,5528,5537
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Oxalis_oregana  Foliage:
 Bright green (may have some white
or burgundy)
 3 heart-shaped leaflets – trefoil
(looks like large 3-leaf clover) – on
long petiole (leaf stem)
 Songbirds may eat young leaves

 Roots: spreads moderately via stout
underground stems (rhizomes)
http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=OXOR © 2009 Neal Kramer

Oxalis have a long history of human use Redwood Sorrel is used as a medicinal
 An edible wild plant in  Fresh juice from plant applied to
sore eyes.
cuisines around the world
 Decoction of whole plant used as a
 Leaves/stems: wash for rheumatism.
 Raw or cooked, as greens
 Poultice of plant applied to swollen
 Lightly fermented – for a side areas & sores on the skin and to
dish draw out infections.
 Dried to make a lemony-tasting © 2006, Clayton J. Antieau

tea
 Fresh or dried as an herb – to
put a little ‘zing’ in dishes
 Tuber:
© Bud Kovalchik:
 Cultivated & eaten like a
potato in the Northern Andes
http://www.boilstreatments.com/poultice-for-boils.html
© Project SOUND http://www.cieldazur.fr/gb/argile/utilisation.php © Project SOUND

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Oxalic acid & other compounds Flowers are wonderful
 Giving the leaves and flowers a sour
taste which can make them refreshing to  Blooms: primarily in spring -
chew. usually April-June in our area

 In very large amounts, oxalic acid may be  Flowers:
considered slightly toxic, interfering  Usually translucent pink but
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxalis

with proper digestion and kidney may be white; beautiful
contrast w/ foliage
function.
 Often have rays that are
 Oxalic acid is also present in commonly of contrasting shade
consumed foods such as spinach,  Medium size - ~1 inch
broccoli, brussel sprouts, grapefruit,  5 petals – relatively simple
chives, and rhubarb, among many others. design

 General scientific consensus seems to be  Seeds:
that the risk of sheer toxicity, actual © 2008 Neal Kramer
 In dry capsule that pops
poisoning from oxalic acid, in persons open, throwing the seeds
© 2006, Clayton J. Antieau

with normal kidney function is "wildly
unlikely“. © Project SOUND
© 2003, Tim Hagan
© Project SOUND

Fairly easy from seed or divisions Redwood Sorrel is a  Soils:
woodland plant  Texture: most are fine
 pH: any local except > 8.0
 Soak the soil around the roots 24
hours before digging (if soil is  Light:
dry).  Part-shade to shade
Use fresh seed
 Divide Oxalis oregana in fall (as  Naturally grows under trees
the winter rainy season begins)
or in late winter or early spring
 Water:
(when new shoots/leaves appear).  Winter: supplement in dry,
windy periods
© 2011 Zoya Akulova

 Lift the Oxalis roots from the  Summer: like a moist soil –
soil. Gently pull the roots apart Water Zone 2-3 or 3
into clumps containing three to
© Br. Alfred Brousseau, Saint Mary's College

five new growth shoots  Fertilizer: likes a richer soil
Use an organic mulch – leaf than many natives; fine with
 Replant the divisions in the litter or leaf mulch is ideal added humus, compost, light
garden. Soak the area to settle fertilizer
the soil.

http://www.baynatives.com/plants/Oxalis-oregana/

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1/6/2013

Woodsy groundcover
Oxalis oregana 'Select Pink’, ‘Tilden Pink’,
 Great in shady spots under ‘Smith River white’
trees – pines, junipers, etc. -
with Lilies, Fringecups & Iris
 Natural varieties
 Does great in pots & planters
chosen for their
 Around shady fountains, flower color
birdbaths, other moist areas

http://www.dunngardens.org/plants/spring/Oxalis_oregana.html
http://agardenerinprogress.blogspot.com/2009/05/path-in-spring.html http://www.calfloranursery.com/plants/oxalis-oregana http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=OXOR

Our challenge today: the maturing garden …and feel like you fell
down the rabbit hole

Time to assess what’s missing © Project SOUND © Project SOUND

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1/6/2013

for this shady garden – made a good start


Lessons from the new perennial garden
books (for the New CA Garden)
So, visit the spring plant sales

1. Learn to ‘read the pictures’ –
what is it I like about the
feel of this garden?

2. Try to ‘capture the spirit’
not duplicate the plants

3. Take the time to choose the
right native plant for the job

4. Choose ‘value added’ native Some great plants for your water garden –
plants that still capture the now’s the time to plant
spirit of the image you love Wild Mint – Mentha arvensis

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And get out & get inspired: it’s spring!

http://www.californianativeflora.com/garden-blog/7th-annual-theodore-payne-native-plant-garden-tour-april-10th-and-11th/

© Project SOUND

25

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