Native buckwheats are the iconic plant of the west, according to Pete Veilleux, and are also the most prolific species in California, with almost 500 varieties and subspecies. They are all wonderful in the garden, he said.
Veilleux runs East Bay Wilds Native Plants Nursery and also designs, installs, and maintains native gardens. Since he was 10 years old, Veilleux said, he's been a gardener looking for plants in the wild,“ and experimenting with them in gardens. He spoke to the Gardening with Natives group of the California Native Plant Society earlier this month in a talk entitled ”Buckwheats: Bonbons for Bees and Butterflies."
You may have eaten buckwheat or kasha, or grown buckwheat as a cover crop. This plant is in the same family as native buckwheats, but is in the genus Fagopyrum, whereas native buckwheats are in the genus Eriogonum.
Most native buckwheats are perennials that flower a long time, from about July until the first freeze. They are the best bee food you can have; both the pollen and the nectar are excellent. All but a handful require full sun, and most prefer dry conditions once they are established.
Two commonly grown species tolerate shade, though they need at least 1 to 2 hours of direct sun to flower well, Veilleux said: Santa Cruz Island buckwheat and Conejo buckwheat. Santa Cruz Island buckwheat flowers forever in shade, Veilleux said, and can show leaf burn in too much sun. He likes to plant low-growing, yellow-flowering Conejo buckwheat under trees, though it can take full sun just fine. A third species, Nakedstem buckwheat, likes some shade but can take 3-4 hours of sun in the hottest areas.
In general, buckwheats don't grow fast. St. Catherine's Lace, however, grows fast with or without water and is a good choice for a large area to suppress weeds, Veilleux said. It looks otherworldly when it's planted in front of structures that contrast dramatically with the pinkish white flower clusters atop tall stems.
Buckwheats tolerate dog pee, Veilleux said. They'd seem a natural choice near sidewalks or in parking strips, but because their branches are brittle, it's best to protect them with other plants. He recommended Santa Cruz Island buckwheat, Conejo buckwheat, or California buckwheat in such areas, perhaps coming up through a ground-hugging ceanothus variety.
A couple species are notable because they are so prolific in the wild along the coast. From San Francisco northward, coast buckwheat predominates. It grows tight to the ground and has pretty rosettes of fuzzy leaves that look nice even without the flowers. From the city southward, cliff buckwheat predominates. This small-leaved, very floriferous species is the easiest of all buckwheats and reseeds prolifically, so it's a good choice for an area where it can have plenty of room to spread.
A variety of California buckwheat, Warriner Lytle, is a great groundcover for hot, sunny slopes. Veilleux singled out this variety, as well as California buckwheat and Shasta Sulfur buckwheat, as varieties to try where predation by deer is a problem.
Excess water can be a problem for many buckwheats. If you want to plant them during the dry season, Veilleux advised checking the soil to find out how often it dries out, then watering slowly about 6 to 8 inches away from the plant, letting the water seep in. If your plants are in a good growth period, you can plant them in the sun and water them up to 2-3 times a week, checking the soil each time to make sure you're not overwatering.
Join the Eriogonum Society to learn more about these plants.
Buckwheats are always alive with pollinators and beneficial insects. These plants can range from compact cushions under a foot high to imposing 7 ft. high shrubs.
The pinkish flowers of Santa Cruz Island buckwheat blend nicely with the icy blue leaves of wild rye. To avoid leaf burn, plant this buckwheat where it will get some shade inland. It will produce flowers as long as it gets a couple of hours of direct sun.
The tall flowering stems of St. Catherine's Lace look especially dramatic silhouetted against a darker backdrop. The flat-topped clusters of tiny whitish to pinkish flowers attract a wide range of beneficial insects, and the flowers remain attractive when they dry to rustier shades.
© 2014 Tanya Kucak