Plant of the Month – February
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This California native plant offers a long season of bright, daisy-like, yellow flowers, while tolerating heat, drought, poor soils, and even reflected heat. At the same time, it resists rabbits, but attracts butterflies, songbirds, and beneficial pollinators.
Goldeneye
Bahiopsis parishii (Viguiera deltoidea parishii)
- Plant Form: Semi-deciduous Shrub
- Water Use: Very Low
- Mature Size: 2-3 ft. tall and wide
- Exposure: Full Sun
- Bloom Time: Spring (Feb-May), Summer (June), Fall (Sept-Oct)
- Native to: Southwestern California, southern Nevada, Arizona, northern Mexico (below 5000 feet)
- Hardiness: Cold hardy to 15°F
Goldeneye is blanketed with bright, golden flowers on long stalks, contrasting nicely with its dark-green leaves — which feel like a cat’s tongue due to their stiff hairs. A moderately fast-growing, winter-deciduous shrub that attracts butterflies, songbirds, and beneficial pollinators, but resists rabbits. This perennial sunflower will crown sprout back from its roots after winter dormancy, so don’t fret if it freezes to the ground – it is root hardy. Goldeneye will repeat bloom with some summer water. Trim back after bloom cycle for more flowers and denser, neater growth. Performs well in both high-desert and low-desert gardens, naturally growing from sea level to 5000 feet in elevation. Goldeneye is extremely heat tolerant, and doesn’t mind reflected heat or poor soils. Nice mass of color to border a fence, for a background in the garden, in dry washes and rock gardens, or to fill in a naturalized area.
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