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
Underutilized Native Shrubs With Big Ecological Impact
Shopping for shrubs can be a dull experience when so many garden centers, nurseries and big box stores sell the same lackluster choices. Does the world need another forsythia, another boxwood, another sterile hydrangea? Go beyond the ecologically-mediocre and seek out great native shrubs that contribute big ecological impact to…
Fall Tip: Boosting the Health of Trees and Shrubs
Some of our most important native plants are “woodies” (trees and shrubs). Woodies provide critical structure and ecological function to most landscapes – some are early pollen sources for hungry bees, some are nesting sites for songbirds, and some, primarily evergreens, provide cover to many creatures during harsh winters. Your…
Put Down that Rake! What Leaves Can Do for You and Your Landscape
It’s that time of year when leaves seem to blanket everything in sight in much of the U.S., at least in locales where there is an abundance of deciduous trees and shrubs. For years, homeowners have taken great care to remove every dead leaf from their landscapes as if those…