 |
| Mother Nature's Backyard with pink Elegant clarkia (Clarkia unguiculata) |
May
is often a delightful month. Depending
on rainfall and temperature, most of the early-flowering plants like California
poppy, Baby blue-eyes, Purple clarkia and the lupines have completed their
flowering. Now the later-blooming wildflowers like Yarrow, Globe gilia and several of the Clarkias come into their
own. Despite a bit of rain, the heat and
dry winds of the past month have taken a toll on our coastal spring
wildflowers. Fortunately, a few dependable
Clarkia unguiculata still add their
color to Mother Nature’s Backyard.
Elegant
clarkia (also known as Mountain garland) is an annual wildflower that brightens
California foothills and lowlands (below 5000 ft.). Finding it in the wild is always
an unexpected treat! The species distribution ranges from Northern California
into Baja California, Mexico; locally it can be seen in the Santa Monica
Mountains and on Santa Catalina Island.
Like
many of our annual wildflowers, Elegant clarkia grows in several different
climatic zones including the coastal area, inland foothills and even some
desert foothills. Among the plant communities
which include it are the Coastal Strand, Coastal Prairie, Valley Grassland, Oak
Woodland and Chaparral. It often grows
on dry, open slopes but is also seen in the shade of trees and larger shrubs. Its ability to flower in partial shade makes Clarkia unguiculata particularly useful
in the garden.
In
form, Elegant clarkia is upright, many-branched and somewhat stiff-looking if
planted in sun, slightly less so in shade. Tip-pruning when the plants are small will
increase branching, and some gardeners choose to do so. The main stalk is often tinged with red or
purple, particularly in a hot, dry spring.
The leaves are simple, lance-shaped to linear and sparsely spaced along
the stems. Both stems and leaves are
hairless (glabrous).
Elegant
clarkia is a mid- to late-spring bloomer in our area (coastal Southern
California). It may start flowering as
early as the beginning of April or as late as June depending on temperature and
rainfall. Seeds may be serially planted,
every two weeks, to extend the bloom season into summer. If you’re willing to keep the seedlings
watered, serial planting is a nice trick to provide brilliant color in the
summer garden.
The
flowers of Clarkia unguiculata are
quite spectacular. They range in color
from white and pale pink through salmon orange, bright pink and magenta. Local wild populations are either
magenta-purple or white. In local gardens, the color palette seems to change
from year to year. Whether this reflects
differential drought tolerance – or differences in breeding success the year
before – has yet to be determined for our area. But the yearly variability is just one of
the fascinating characteristics of this species; you literally can’t predict the color scheme from
year to year!
Like
other Clarkias, the flowers of Elegant clarkia are in ‘parts of four’ reflecting
their position in the family Onagraceae (Evening
primrose or Willowherb family). This
family includes the popular native Evening primroses (Oenothera species), the fuschias, the Suncups (Camissonia species) and the Willowherbs (Epilobium species). All of
these are frequently used in local gardens.
 |
| Elegant clarkia (Clarkia unguiculata): flower buds and flower |
Elegant
clarkia’s flowers are large (to 1 inch) and solitary on short flowering stems that
are most conspicuous before the buds open (above). The four colorful petals have a unique diamond
or spade-like shape with a narrow, claw-like base (see photo above). In fact, the petals are so unique that the
species name unguiculata describes
them (it means ‘little red claw or nail’). Flowers have 8 stamens (four
red-orange anthers; four white) and a fused stigma that’s usually longer than
the anthers. Flowers are pollinated by native bees but they
also attract hummingbirds.
While
the native form has four petals, plants from purchased seed sometimes exhibit double
or even triple the usual number of flower parts (see above). It’s unclear to us whether these ‘fancies’
represent hybrids with another Clarkia species or are due to genetic
variability – even gene duplication – within the species. Other Clarkias are known to form
inter-species hybrids - as well as individuals with chromosomal duplications -
so either explanation is possible. We’ll
have to await an answer to the mystery of the Elegant clarkia ‘fancies’.
 |
| Elegant clarkia (Clarkia unguiculata): young seed capsules |
The
flowers open over the course of several weeks, beginning at the bottom of the
stem and working upwards. The period may
be as short as several weeks to as long as 4-6 weeks with adequate
moisture. At end of season it’s not
unusual to see ripe seed capsules and the final flowers on a single plant. The seed pods (see above) are stout, grooved
capsules that start green-red and are dry tan at maturity. The sections of the dry mature pod open by
curling back from the top, releasing hundreds of tiny seeds.
Elegant
Clarkia has been a garden favorite for hundreds of years. Seeds were exported to England in the 1800’s
and Elegant clarkia is still planted by European gardeners. It is loved by California gardeners – and not
just native plant gardeners – throughout the state. Part of the popularity is due to the lovely flowers. Unless one detests pink and purple, it’s difficult not to be captivated by them.
 |
| Mixed wildflower planting: Madrona Marsh Nature Center, Torrance CA |
Another
reason is Clarkia unguiculata’s adaptability.
While local wild Clarkias grow in sandy,
well-drained soils, this species does spectacularly in clays. It has a wide pH tolerance (6.5-8.5) so can be
grown in alkali soils. It does well in full sun – but also flowers in
the high shade of trees, on the east side of walls, etc. It is particularly usefully for those
challenging areas with a combination of full sun and shade; like Yarrow, it
helps to bridge transitional zones with simplicity and grace.
Elegant
clarkia seeds are best planted in late fall or early winter – right before a
good rainstorm. In common with most annual wildflowers, Elegant clarkia needs
good soil moisture during its growth period.
Seeds germinate after the winter rains commence and seedlings are
vulnerable to dry soils. Supplemental
irrigation may be needed during prolonged winter dry spells. Once plants begin to flower they are fairly
drought tolerant.
Like
all wildflowers, plants need a dry period for proper seed development. Start tapering off irrigation as seed pods
begin to dry; then let the pods develop until they are dry and beginning to
open. You can either let plants reseed naturally
or save seeds for next year. The seeds
are loved by birds, so we suggest you save some for next year’s planting. Seed saving is simplicity itself. Once the pods begin to open, uproot the
plants and invert the whole plant into a large paper bag. The pods will dry and open, releasing the
seeds. Store seeds in a paper envelop
or glass jar in a cool place indoors.
That’s all there is to it!
 |
| Elegant clarkia (Clarkia unguiculata) adds color to the May garden: 'Garden of Dreams' Discovery Garden - CSU Dominguez Hills, Carson CA |
Annual
wildflowers like Elegant clarkia can be used in many ways in the garden. While they are often combined with other
native wildflowers, this is not the only possibility. We heartily recommend Elegant clarkia as a
filler plant in developing gardens. The
flowers add a spot of color and mask bare areas between the growing
shrubs. Just be sure to mulch lightly –
or not at all – in the areas with wildflower seeds. If you want to reserve areas for wildflowers,
consider using a gravel mulch (see http://mother-natures-backyard.blogspot.com/2012/07/understanding-mulches_23.html
for more on mulches).
 |
| Elegant clarkia (Clarkia unguiculata) with Birdseye-gila (Gilia tricolor; purple-white flowers), California buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum; green foliage) and Catalina silverlace (Constancea nevinii; silver foliage) : Mother Nature's Backyard |
We
like combining Clarkias with Birds-eye and Globe gilias (see above). The light-colored Birds-eye gilia often
finishes blooming just as the other two are taking off. Clarkia are excellent choices for the
habitat garden, providing nectar and pollen (native bees & hummingbirds)
and seeds for seed-eating birds like finches, sparrows and the like. There’s nothing prettier than a container
filled with Clarkias on a sunny or shady porch. Consider them also for the vegetable
garden. They attract pollinators and the seeds are edible,
raw or parched.
Elegant
clarkia makes a long-lasting cut flower and is often used in bouquets and
floral arrangements. It is wonderful
massed – truly spectacular! Don’t
worry about thinning – the plants will do that themselves and massed plants
will even out-compete the weeds. If you
let the plants re-seed they will naturalize where ever they find a compatible
place. They are easy to remove if
inappropriate and you can even use both foliage and flowers for green and gold
natural dyes.
We
hope you’ve enjoyed the story and pictures – and will consider Elegant clarkia
for your own garden. It’s truly a
California treasure!
For a
gardening information sheet see: http://www.slideshare.net/cvadheim/gardening-sheet-clarkia-unguiculata
For more
pictures of this plant see: http://www.slideshare.net/cvadheim/clarkia-unguiculata-web-show
We
welcome your comments (below). You can
also send your questions to: mothernaturesbackyard10@gmail.com
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar