2021 Spring Growth at CCW
Photos by Josh Fodor



Ellen Uhler writes of the Phacelia at the nursery: "I'm pretty sure we've got a hybrid swarm on our hands. More of them are showing Phacelia nemoralis tendencies than P. californica. P. californica usually has blue to lavender flowers (but sometimes white) and P. nemoralis has whitish flowers. They are both perennials, but P. nemoralis is "short-lived". But I will say that they have been self-seeding like crazy on one of our sites. And bumblebees love them."
Phacelia expert and Senior Plant Taxonomist at the California Department of Food and Agriculture, Dr. Genevieve K. Walden recently noted: "Heckard documented crosses and hybrid swarms for californica - [californica x nemoralis and californica x imbricata]. Crosses for californica with nemoralis were successful for tetraploid level - hybrids weren't successful at diploid level. Heckard's monograph is really thorough and very helpful for the variation in the perennial group."





