Annual Wildflowers

Greetings ,

Ah, spring. The time when a gardener’s heart and mind is captivated by the splendor of annual wildflowers. Such a lovely distraction from all the weeding, aren’t they?

We’ve got quite a hefty palette of gorgeous spring wildflowers on our shelves for sale, including familiar favorites like Clarkias, lupines, poppies, fiddleheads, and more! New to growing wildflowers? Read on to learn more, and see some of our favorites this spring.

Native wildflowers are incredibly important for pollinators–providing early nectar, pollen, and foliage as a source of food. These blooms have evolved particular shapes, colors, sizes, and perfectly timed flowering seasons to attract their target pollinators. In addition, lupines (Lupinus nanus/Sky Lupine, right) and other legumes can fix nitrogen, improving soil health, and returning nutrients to the soil with each life cycle.

Most of our native wildflowers in California are annuals, which have a remarkably efficient life cycle– germinating, flowering, and setting seeds in the span of only a few months! Adapted to our Mediterranean climate, they’ll sprout with winter rains, bloom in spring and summer, and then produce seeds before they die in the summer heat. Having evolved in our climate, they require less water, fertilizer, are less prone to disease, and are more tolerant of pests than non-native annuals. California native annual wildflowers produce abundant seeds, allowing them to sprout up new individuals each spring. Their seeds are also a source of food for many bird species. And of course, the beauty of our native annuals makes spring the season of some of the most enchanting wonders that California has to offer!

Left: Eschscholzia caespitosa, or Tufted Poppy – A stunner alone or paired with lupines, Chinese houses, or Clarkias

Right: Mentzelia lindleyi, or Lindley’s Blazing Star – Great for containers!

Tips for Gardening with Annuals:

Predation: Many annuals will be nibbled on by snails, slugs, migratory sparrows, deer, and more! A lightweight netting or cage that still allows light through will allow your plants to grow without being munched to the ground. Otherwise, plant in containers closer to a building to discourage browsing.

Watering & Care: Fast growing annuals in containers or in the ground will need moisture to get established–either by your hand or the clouds. Pinch pruning will encourage branching, and help them develop a sturdier main stem. And, keep on top of the weeding-native annual wildflowers can’t always outcompete our invasive weeds.

Growing from seed: A cost effective route for a showy spring garden, though seeds are not without their challenges. Sow in a weed-free area, keep moist for 2-4 weeks, protect from predation, and thin as needed to encourage healthy growth.

Design: Annuals look their best when planted en masse, so plant multiple of each species you’re interested in, and mix in a few perennials so you always have something blooming for pollinators. Successful plants will reseed best where there aren’t too many weeds.

Want to see wildflowers in the wild?

Theodore Payne Foundation’s Wildflower Hotline is back, starting March 6! Call 818 768-1802 ext. 7 to hear weekly recorded wild flower reports, narrated by Tom Henschel.

East Bay Regional Parks has wildflower guides for each park. A special shoutout to the Sibley Meadow Restoration project.

Of course, we’ll have some growing around the nursery, too–stop by 10-4, Tues-Sundays!

Clarkia amoena, or Farewell to spring, and Layia platyglossa, or Coastal Tidytips play well together.

Farewell-to-spring

Clarkia amoena

Available in 4″ pots for $7.70 each!

• Farewell-to-spring is a super showy annual wildflower that grows from 1- 3 ft tall. It grows either erect or sprawling with large, 4-petaled, cup-shaped, pink flowers. Each flower is highlighted with a splash of bright red on each petal.
• The flowers show up late in the season just after the grasslands begin to turn golden brown. Plant in moderate to well-draining soil that should be moist just until flowering starts, then it can be quite dry. It will flourish in part to full sun conditions.
• Pinch out the central leader to encourage branching and heavy bloom. Will self-sow if conditions are right.
• Flowers serve as a nectar source for honey bees, as well as native bumble bees, mason bees, butterflies and other beneficial insects.
• Seed from Clarkia plants are gathered by indigenous Californians to grind into meal.

Blue Fiesta Flower

Pholistoma auritum



Available in 4″ pots for $7.70 each!

• This 1-4 foot tall annual herb has a unique growth form, with brittle, profusely branching and tangled stems.
• Native to CA, NV, AZ, Blue Fiesta Flower can be found in various habitats, from scrubland to woodland to mountainous fields. In California, Fiesta Flower are often found along the coast ranges, and western Sierra.
• Deep purpley-blue blooms are profuse in spring, popping up above wavy bright green leaves. The hairs along their stems allow the blooms to stick to clothes, and it is said that fiesta flowers were used to decorate the skirts of women during festivities in early Spanish California.
• Best used interspersed with other wildflowers, where it can reseed well. Larval host plant for Stamnodes albiapicata caterpillars.

Menzies’ Fiddleneck

Amsinckia intermedia

Available in 4″ pots for $7.70 each!

• This herbaceous annual blooms early spring through midsummer.
• Typically grows 4″-15″ but mature plants have been known to reach up to 4′ tall.
• Fiddlenecks are common over a wide range in open ground from coastline to mid elevations.
• Because it reseeds heavily and establishes well in disturbed areas, it is a good plant for infilling and weed competition in the garden.
• The most notable feature is its namesake flowering whorl, which resembles the neck of a violin.
• The blooms open up as the fiddlehead unfurls, providing an extended bloom period.
• The seeds are a favorite food of goldfinches!

Blow Wives

Achyrachaena mollis

Available in 4″ pots for $7.70 each!

• Blow wives are an annual herb that grows approximately 1 ft. tall.
• Their spherical clusters of small yellow flowers bloom from April to May, followed by the appearance of white scales attached to the fruit that make them look like dandelion puffballs and give them their name.
• Common in low-elevation hills and grasslands all over California, it serves as a larval host for the Painted Lady butterfly. Blow wives can grow in a variety of soil types, including clay and serpentine. They prefer sunny locations that dry out in the summer.

California Goldfields

Lasthenia californica



Available in RP and 4″ pots for $7.70 each!

• Part of the sunflower family, Goldfields is a low-growing annual herb reaching 2 to 10 inches tall, and 8 to 18 inches in spread making it an excellent ground cover.
• This species produces large populations of blooms blanketing many coastal bluffs, and open fields from March until May.
• The flowers resemble tiny yellow daisies, and leaves are linear to broad rounded apex and tapering base. It is variable in appearance across subspecies and climate, and will grow in just about any type of soil.
• It reseeds profusely with enough moisture, and on an undisturbed site, it returns year after year.

American Bird’s-foot Trefoil

Acmispon americanus

Available in 4″ pots for $7.70 each!

• American Bird’s-foot Trefoil, also known as Spanish clover, is an annual herb in the Legume family that grows 1 ft. tall and wide.
• Its flowers have pink to white petals with pink veining and a yellow center. They bloom through the spring and summer.
• This species is not common in gardens, but is a useful plant for restoration projects in a variety of habitats throughout California.
• Larval host plant of several species of Blue and Skipper butterflies as well as the Presius Duskywing. Its pollen and nectar is a valued food source for bees as well, making this species the perfect addition to pollinator gardens.

Happy Spring from all of us at the Watershed Nursery Cooperative!