Bee Phacelia Phacelia tanacetifolia
Other Common Name(s):
Previously known as:
- Phacelia commixta
- Phacelia tripinnata
- Phonetic Spelling
- fa-SEE-lee-uh tan-uh-see-tee-FOH-lee-uh
- Description
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Scorpian weed is an annual widely used in Europe, and is gaining traction in the US, with feathery leaves and fiddle-head clusters of purple blooms that make it very attractive to pollinators. It is often used in the seed mix of a cover crop. It propagates easily from seed, just sow directly on top of the soil after the last frost. Scratching the seed coat and soaking overnight can improve germination rates. Because it self-seeds so easily it can become weedy in certain areas. However, its beneficial characteristics of being an attractive pollinator plant often outway its weedy tendencies as it is easy to till back into the soil adding nitrogen. It has a taproot and dense fibrous roots as well. It is drought tolerant, prefers full sun, and withstands sandy or rocky soil. It will suffer in waterlogged conditions. It is winter hardy to 18 degrees F.
- See this plant in the following landscape:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
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Attributes:
- Genus:
- Phacelia
- Species:
- tanacetifolia
- Family:
- Boraginaceae
- Life Cycle:
- Annual
- Recommended Propagation Strategy:
- Seed
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- California to Mexico
- Wildlife Value:
- Flowers attract bees and other pollinators. It provides high-quality nectar and pollen. It also supports beneficial predators and parasitoids.
- Dimensions:
- Height: 1 ft. 0 in. - 3 ft. 0 in.
- Width: 1 ft. 0 in. - 3 ft. 0 in.
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Annual
- Habit/Form:
- Erect
- Growth Rate:
- Rapid
- Maintenance:
- Medium
- Texture:
- Fine
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Soil Texture:
- Sand
- Shallow Rocky
- Available Space To Plant:
- 12 inches-3 feet
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Fruit:
- Fruit Description:
- Two brown wrinkled seeds are produced in the ovoid fruit. Seeds drop to the ground when the fruit is mature.
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Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- Blue
- Purple/Lavender
- Flower Value To Gardener:
- Long Bloom Season
- Showy
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Spring
- Summer
- Flower Shape:
- Bell
- Flower Petals:
- 4-5 petals/rays
- fused petals
- Flower Description:
- Early to late spring and into the summer dense clusters of dusty purple-blue flowers open sequentially on fiddle-head shaped stems. There are 5 fuzzy sepals and the bell-shaped flowers have a fused corolla center parts of the flowers, darker purple stamens and styles stick out beyond the petals.
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Leaves:
- Leaf Color:
- Green
- Leaf Type:
- Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Alternate
- Leaf Shape:
- Oblong
- Ovate
- Pinnatifid
- Leaf Margin:
- Dentate
- Lobed
- Hairs Present:
- Yes
- Leaf Length:
- > 6 inches
- Leaf Width:
- 3-6 inches
- Leaf Description:
- Fern-like leaves variable sizes up to 8" bipinnatifid oblong to ovate compound divided into leaflets with toothed lobes.
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Stem:
- Stem Color:
- Green
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
- Stem Surface:
- Hairy (pubescent)
- Stem Description:
- Erect, or semi-erect, glandular with short stiff hairs, succulent
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Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Meadow
- Naturalized Area
- Landscape Theme:
- Pollinator Garden
- Attracts:
- Bees
- Specialized Bees
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Drought
- Heat
- Problems:
- Weedy
