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Navarretia squarrosa, Pincushion Navarretia seed

Navarretia squarrosa, Pincushion Navarretia seed

$2.00Price

Navarretia squarrosa (skunkbush, skunkweed, or California stinkweed) is a spreading annual plant from North America which is noted for its skunk-like odor. Covers 1 sf.

From Northwest Meadowscape's website: 

 

Appearing like plant out of time, Navarretia is one of those few native wildflowers that still sometimes persists alongside humans in unexpected places -- showing up briefly in compacted gravel roadsides, and wet vacant lots, then disappearing again for decades.

 

Our population is one of these ephemeral patches, having emerged from a bare muddy spot in a hedgerow gap, where winter flood waters had pooled up, then dried out in the summer. This pattern of favoring wet winter ground followed by summer drought speaks to the true ecology of this plant – a plant that likely first existed in and around wild vernal meadow pools from southern California to British Columbia. Such small seasonal ponds sustained small wetland songbirds and frogs before drying out into a riot of small, early summer wildflowers. Navarretia is part of that specific wildflower community and is still a great plant for similar locations – places such as bioswales and rain gardens.

 

Smelling strongly of green cannabis(!), this is a glandular (i.e. sticky), little annual plant with stiff, hair-like filaments. A member of the phlox family, it produces globe-like flower heads of small lavender blossoms that bear a constant succession of blooms during the long summer flowering season, ultimately producing apparently edible seeds.

 

The faunal associations of this plant are not well understood, however we strongly suspect it is a plant that attracts a number of rare and uncommon bees. In particular, it’s likely that a number of very, very tiny Perdita and Andrena mining bees are close associates of this plant, as well as some cryptic members of the leafcutter bee family, Ashmeadiella californica and Anthidium palliventre – the Pacific wool-carder bee—a species that we otherwise only know of as a coastal specialist visiting gumweed and nesting in sandy ground.

 

This is an unappreciated wildflower with lots of potential. Try it in container plantings, with meadowfoam and native clovers for a miniature porch bee garden. Or construct your own backyard vernal pool with this plant -- supporting frogs and pollinators alternatively across the seasons.

Quantity
Only 4 left in stock
  • How to Use Your Cover Crop & Native Seed Packets

    Each seed packet is measured to cover 25 sq ft or 100 sq ft, depending on the size you chose.

    Sowing Instructions

    • When to sow: Fall is ideal in Portland. The soil is still warm for germination, and fall rains keep seedlings watered. Some seeds (like meadowfoam or clovers) can also be spring-sown.
       

    How to sow:

    • Rake the soil lightly to create good seed-to-soil contact.
    • Scatter the contents of the packet evenly over the area (don’t worry about perfect spacing).
    • Gently press or rake seeds in so they make contact with the soil. Do not bury deeply — most native and cover crop seeds need light to germinate.
    • Water: Fall rains usually do the job, but water lightly if the weather turns dry.

    What to Expect

    • Traditional Cover Crops (rye, peas, fava, daikon, crimson clover, buckwheat, mustard): Grow quickly, protect soil, and build fertility. In spring, chop them down or mow before they set seed. Some (like rye) can also be crimped into a mulch.

    • Living Mulches (red fescue, dwarf yarrow, creeping thyme, low clovers): These stay low and provide long-term weed suppression and ground cover. Shear lightly as needed, but they don’t require replanting every year.
       

    • Pollinator Wildflowers (Clarkia, poppy, gilia, flax, meadowfoam, coneflower, blanketflower): Not classic cover crops, but they add beauty and attract bees, butterflies, and beneficial insects. Many reseed naturally.
       

    Spring & Summer Management

    • Chop-and-drop: Cut plants at the base and leave them as mulch (peas, fava, clovers).

    • Mow: Use on ryegrass or cereals to turn them into quick mulch.

    • Crimp: Flatten tall rye or grains at flowering to create a long-lasting weed barrier.

    • Shear perennials: Yarrow, thyme, and sedges can be trimmed back after bloom.

    • Self-seeders: Flowers like poppy, clarkia, and meadowfoam will often reseed themselves. Leave some seed heads if you want them back next year.

    Quick Tips

    • Cover crops = soil builders.

    • Living mulches = weed suppressors.

    • Wildflowers = pollinator magnets.

    Tulle or row cover can protect young seedlings from birds and slugs until established.

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