Trout, Fawns and Dog's Teeth

I first encountered Oregon fawnlilies (Erythronium oregonum) in the yards of older homes in Eugene’s rocky south west hills, where I lived at the time. Sturdy little relics of pre-development days, they still grow there in the thin grass under native oaks and widely spaced Douglas firs. These cream colored, down-facing ‘lilies’ on stems less than a foot high flourish in open woodland throughout the Willamette Valley and elsewhere west of the Cascade mountains, blooming in late March and April.

Erythronium species occur naturally in Asia, Europe and North America. Most of them, around 20 species, are found in Western North America. Dog’s tooth violet, adder’s tongue and troutlily are all common names for various erythroniums, but those in the American west are generally called fawnlilies. The first name refers to the oddly shaped, elongated bulb, while troutlily and fawnlily reflect the brownish spots or mottling on the leaves of some species, including Oregon fawnlily.

Much less common in our area than Oregon fawnlily is the pink coast fawnlily (Erythronium revolutum). It grows in meadows and damp forests close to the coast, from northern California to the Olympics. The leaves sport a network of silvery white or brownish veins. You can see coast fawnlilies in the rhododendron garden at Hendricks Park in Eugene, where it was introduced many years ago. The splendid white-flowered avalanche lily (E. montanum), a species you may run into at higher elevations in the Coast Range and the Cascades, has plain green leaves.

Avalanche lily is reputedly difficult to grow, but some species of erythronium do really well in gardens. Oregon fawnlily spreads by seed and stolons and may form wide-spreading colonies in a well-drained, woodsy area that gets some sun in spring. (All species go dormant after they set seed.) In more conventional flower gardens it may be easier to find a home for the kinds that readily make bulb offsets and form clumps. These include the beautiful European dog’s-tooth violet (Erythronium dens-canis), but I have had difficulty getting this established in my garden.

I’ve been more successful with coast fawnlily and two robust, well-tested garden varieties, Erythronium californicum ‘White Beauty’ and E. ‘Pagoda’, a cross between ‘White Beauty’ and the yellow-flowered, plain green-leafed E. tuolumnense. You can grow these in ordinary good (not too heavy) garden soil between small shrubs and other clump-forming perennials. They will tolerate moderate summer watering as long as the soil is well-drained. It is a good idea to mark the clumps so you won’t disturb them during their long summer dormancy and so that you can keep vigorous, self-sown plants like foxglove and columbine from gobbling them up.

Common Oregon fawn lily can be grown from seed. You can also buy bulbs, from late summer into fall, from Buggy Crazy at the Lane County Farmers’ Market. Sometimes Buggy Crazy has other species, too. Plant sales are another good source: watch for sales, coming up in spring, sponsored by Destination Imagination, Mt. Pisgah Arboretum, Avid Gardeners and the Willamette Valley Hardy Plant Group. Go early.

EW April 2009

Tails of Glory

The British have always had an eye for a good plant, and anything that looks alluring in a gloomy northern winter should be downright irresistible. So it’s not surprising Brits embraced the Oregon native, coast silktassel bush (Garrya elliptica). Scottish explorer and plant hunter David Douglas introduced the plant to cultivation in 1828, along with salal and red-flowering currant, from seed he collected in the Pacific Northwest. Since it is the only member of the genus that is commonly encountered it is usually called silktassel or just garrya.

In London, where I spent this winter, silktassel is almost ubiquitous, yet I rarely see it in Oregon gardens. At the coast, where it grows naturally, it is happy as a clam. Given a little shade from the hottest sun and shelter from wind, it also does fine in the Willamette Valley. Why don’t we plant it more often? One reason may be that it can grow a little thin and gangly, and gardeners seem conditioned to expect evergreens to be dense and rounded. Unfortunately, many of the plants that fill that bill grow too big, too fast. Some, such as cherry laurel and Portugal laurel, are also highly invasive. In the right situation, silktassel may be a good alternative.

What’s so great about silktassel is its catkins. Most of the year it is just an unexceptional evergreen, whose dark green, leathery leaves with wavy margins and palely felted undersides are not quite distinctive enough to get your attention. But from December through February, when it shakes out those beguiling, gray-green tassels, a good specimen will stop you in your tracks. Female plants that have a male companion produce fruit that attract birds, but male plants are most often planted because they have longer, showier catkins. The American cultivar ‘James Roof’ has catkins a foot long.

Garrya grows at a moderate rate to 8-12 feet, in sun or shade. The leaves may burn in hot locations (don’t plant it against an unshaded south-facing wall) while in heavy shade the bush will be quite scrawny. You can minimize this effect by planting several young plants in a group two feet apart, shortening young growth occasionally to help maintain density. I’ve seen this done effectively in London parks. Alternatively, you can train your silktassel on a cool wall or fence. It’s young limbs are flexible, and an espalier is a wonderful way to show off the catkins. In a sunny place you can also train it as a small tree for maximum display.

A word of warning: silktassel does not recover well after transplanting, nor does it like to be cut way back (as in renewal pruning). So you want to get it in the right place early on and prune it, where necessary, lightly and often. Like many Oregon natives, silktassel is tolerant of drought. It also puts up with pollution, and does not appear to be fussy about soil type. It does, however, need good drainage, especially where it grows in heavy soil. Plant it slightly above grade, and be sparing with summer water. If it grows quickly but is slow to flower, the soil may be too fertile.

EW March 2009