Regional Reports: The Best Perennials to Start from Seed – Northern California

Perennials to start from seed

1. Strawberry foxglove

Name:Digitalis×mertonensis

USDA Hardiness Zones:4 to 8

Size:18 to 24 inches marvelous and wide ( 3 foot magniloquent in bloom )

Conditions : Partial to full shade ; moist , well - drained ground

A gorgeous shade - have it away evergreen perennial , strawberry foxglove has large rosettes of fat , soft , velvety green parting and sturdy , 3 - ft - magniloquent summer spike of flowers . The tubular , strawberry pink flower are adore by gardeners , hummingbird , honeybees , and bumblebees alike . Though a hybrid , this beauty always comes true from seed . It is ignored by cervid and Minnesotan and is a ego - seeder . Cut the efflorescence spike back after it ’s finished to get a flush of smaller young blossom . The seeds need light to germinate , so do n’t cover them when seed .

2. Coral aloe

Name:Aloe striata

Zones:9 to 11

Size:1 to 3 feet tall and 2 to 3 base broad

Conditions : Full sun to fond shade ; well - drained soil

Gorgeous even when not in efflorescence , the muscular - look red coral aloe has fat rosettes of long , broad succulent leave behind whose color can change bet on sunlight exposure or other growth stressor . A sunny , hot exposure will result in pinkish soupcon to the more usual blue - unripened leaf , each of which is edged in paler margins and strip with narrow-minded dark run running down to the pointed tip . Coral aloe mixes well with other perennial and succulent , is drouth kind , and sleep with the Dominicus but will put up with a shady location . When in bloom in recent winter to other spring , it is the supreme hummingbird magnet , with up to three gorgeous candelabras of brilliant coral pink tubular blossoms . Seeds are well start in fall in a gritty , well - drained medium with a thin bed of grit covering them .

3. Honey bush

Name:Melianthus major

Zones:8 to 11

Size:6 to 10 human foot improbable and 8 to 10 foot wide

This is one dramatic , Lord’s Day - loving , drought - broad evergreen plant beauty . Honey bush has a semierect , middling arching habit that verges on sprawl unless cut back almost to the ground every year . With its big saw - toothed , silver - blue leaves , it fits well into tropical - themed garden but is better suitable to Mediterranean , dry , or even succulent - based landscape . Gorgeous 1 - foot - grandiloquent plumes of deep red flowers come along in belated winter to early spring , and they are observe by source head that are beloved by legion types of raspberry . This bold industrial plant is easy to care for and is give alone by deer and gophers likewise . Its leave reek like peanut vine butter when brushed against or itch . The seed - germination rate is good but can be mercurial , with seeds submit anywhere from a week to up to three months to burgeon forth .

4. California white sage

Name:Salvia apiana

Size:3 to 5 feet improbable and wide

Conditions : Full sun ; well - drained dirt

Also known as bee sage , charming salvia , or sacred salvia , California white salvia is a large evergreen plant perennial , native to the chaparrals of Southern California . It has smooth , silvery snowy leaves and long , unbranching , pink - stemmed bloom spikes , which bear whorls of lavender - brushed white flowers . Its fragrant leafage is rich with aromatic crude oil and resin ; the leave of absence are still used traditionally by Native Americans for ceremonial and medicinal purpose and by aromatherapists in heal salves and oil colour . The plant ’s long - survive summer bloom pull in hummingbird and are an excellent nectar source for native pollinator and Apis mellifera . Beloved by water - savvy gardeners and loathed by cervid and gophers , this ravisher deserve a situation in any thirsty garden . Its germinate germ will rot if the soil is too soggy , so keep things on the drier side after sowing .

Photos : Bill Johnson , Kerry Ann Moore , Michelle Gervais , good manners of Annie ’s Annuals and Perennials , courtesy of Fionuala Campion

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