EcoBlog
The latest thinking on ecological landscapes. Useful tips to improve our environment
Your Favorite Native Plants: Cutleaf Coneflower
Autumn Thomas had the final winning entry to the EcoBeneficial t-shirt contest:
“I’m going to go with Cutleaf Coneflower (Rudbeckia laciniata) even though it’s a tad aggressive, I see hundreds of bees, beetles and lepidoptera (butterflies, skippers and moths) on it every year. Then, after it goes to seed flocks of goldfinches arrive!”
Wondering if Cutleaf Coneflower would be a good fit in your landscape? Take a look:
Zones: 3 to 9
Native range: Quebec to Montana, south to Florida and Arizona
Member of the Aster family (Asteraceae).
Prefers moist, slightly acidic, fertile soil in full sun to part sun (needs moister soil in full sun).
Mature plant size: 3 to 6 feet high x 3 to 4 feet wide.
Spreads by underground stems, and can be “frisky” in the garden – give it space!
It’s a great native alternative to the exotic invasive Yellow Flag Iris (Iris Pseudacorus).
Flower heads are 2 ½” to 3” across and attract many pollinating insects including: long-tongued and short-tongued bees ( including honey bees), predatory wasps, butterflies, skippers, moths, some beetles and flies.
Cutleaf Coneflower is a host plant for caterpillars of the Silvery Checkerspot butterfly and several moths.
Leave the stems and dried flower heads standing through winter to provide seeds for Goldfinches and overwintering sites for insect egg cases (Praying Mantids included!).
Plant Native! from Kim Eierman at EcoBeneficial!
Photo: Rudbeckia lacianata (Cutleaf Coneflower)
Photo credit: Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Oohangousou.JPG
More from EcoBlog
Extending the Garden With Great Native Plants in Pots
If you are like many gardeners, you are scouring your landscape to figure out where else you can squeeze in another plant. No empty spots in your garden? No problem. Containers are the answer! While many gardeners plant in pots, few realize that there are many native plants which will…
Water for Birds and Other Wildlife
Water is the number one thing that birds and other wildlife have the hardest time finding on their own and it’s often the one thing that we often forget to include in our landscapes. If you are lucky enough to have a pond, a lake or a stream on your…
Book Giveaway & New Video: Carol Gracie on Spring Wildflowers part 2
EcoBeneficial! book giveaway! Win a Copy of Carol Gracie’s wonderful book on Spring Wildflowers! Watch part 1 or part 2 of the EcoBeneficial! interview with Carol Gracie. Click at the end when prompted. (If you are watching on an iPhone the banner does not display. Please submit you entry using…