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However,
unless
placed aside in an
area for cut flowers,
their “Look at
me!” flowers often
look artificial and
out of place with
the rest of the
garden. Like
many other gardeners I found
them too gaudy and I would not
grow them. I had no such reservations
about the Clarkias |
Annie’s offers ten annual Clarkia species from California (plus various color and form variants) and even two from outside California. Every year I hope to try a different one, and my most recent treasure is Clarkia breweri, a little beauty that I have seen only once before in the wild. Alone among Clarkias, it is very fragrant. A blooming plant brought indoors can fill a room with a scent so delicious that the perfume industry has spent a lot of time trying to analyze and duplicate it. I found this Clarkia easy to grow as long as it is given very good drainage, but it is probably best suited to a pot that can be lifted up to nose level. I introduced another Clarkia a few years ago that also needs good drainage (Clarkia gracilis albicaulis), but all the rest seem to accept a wide range of conditions. Young pot-grown plants can develop a fungus problem during the Winter and early Spring when the weather is very cool and moist, but I have never seen this happen to self-sown plants. Clarkias can be very short or quite tall and the colors vary from maroon to pink, red, white and even blue. They are commonly known as “Farewell to Spring” because most of them bloom as Spring turns into Summer, but Clarkia concinna is very early and C. rubicunda is very late. Most of them are sturdier in full sun on the coast, but part sun is also acceptable. If established in the ground before the rains stop, they will need no additional water to thrive. Their toughness and delicate looks make them perfect for a wildflower area, though they can crowd out less vigorous flowers. All Clarkias hold well in the vase, but most of them have very short stems. For more traditional bouquets with long stems try C. unguiculata. It can get 3’ tall and I am partial to the soft salmon selection known as ‘Salmon Princess.’ Clarkia rubicunda ‘Shamini’ is likewise good for cutting as it is 3-5’tall and |
|
I saw
while hiking in California. Even
the Clarkias used to breed the
garden varieties had the delicate
beauty I
found lacking
in their
descendants.
I
started
bringing
them into
my garden
and found
most of
them easy
to grow.
They keep
themselves going by self-sowing
and are of no interest to the slugs
that devour the seedlings of so
many of my most coveted California
native wildflowers.
