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Products > Encelia californica 'Paleo Yellow'
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| Category: Shrub |
| Family: Asteliaceae (Asparagales) |
| Origin: California (U.S.A.) |
| Evergreen: Yes |
| Flower Color: Pale Yellow |
| Bloomtime: Spring/Fall |
| Synonyms: [Encelia conspersa] |
| Height: 3-4 feet |
| Width: 4-5 feet |
| Exposure: Full Sun |
| Seaside: Yes |
| Summer Dry: Yes |
| Irrigation (H2O Info): Low Water Needs |
| Winter Hardiness: 25-30° F |
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Encelia californica 'Paleo Yellow' (California Bush Sunflower) A fast growing semi-evergreen bushy subshrub (woody base with thin herbaceous stems) that grows 3 to 4 feet tall and spreading up to 5 feet wide. It has medium green colored ovate leaves with slightly serrated margins and 2 inch wide daisy-like composite inflorescences, primarily flowering in late winter and spring but can rebloom later in the fall when irrigated or with early rains. These inflorescences have 15 to 25 one inch long pale yellow ray flowers surrounding chocolate brown disk flowers. Plant in full sun or light shade; some shade best in hot inland areas. Irrigate occasionally to not at all - this plant is perfectly adapted to our summer dry mediterranean climate! Without summer watering it is summer deciduous, dropping most of its leaves but with occasional irrigation will stay evergreen and likely flower again. It is tolerant of near shoreline seaside conditions and light frosts and will recover from damage caused by short duration dips down to the mid 20s° F, but freeze and not rebound at temperatures much lower, so is best used in near frost free locations. It can be planted in most any soils but performs best and lives longest in a well-drained situation. Deadhead to promote flowering and cut plants back in fall or early winter to retain vigor and a dense form. This plant is useful on hillsides or slopes, where it can help stabilize the soil and deflect rainfall while also providing a long lasting flower display and is a nice green foil for gray leafed California native plants that also like these conditions such as Eriophyllum nevinii [Constancea nevinii], Eriogonum giganteum, Artemisia californica 'Canyon Gray' and Salvia leucophylla 'Point Sal Spreader'. The yellow flowers are excellent combined with blue flowered Ceanothus or Trichostema lanatum, as well as purple-flowered Verbena lilacina 'De La Mina' or Solanum xanti 'Mountain Pride, and are also useful cut and brought in for floral arrangements. Like other sunflower relatives, it is attractive to bees, butterflies and insects. The Bush Sunflower is native to southern California from Santa Barbara County south to north western Baja California. It is a member of the coastal scrub plant community and the chaparral plant community in foothills of the Transverse and Peninsular mountain ranges. This species was described by the English botanist and zoologist Thomas Nuttall (1786 –1859), who lived and worked in America through much of the first half of the 19th century. His time in California was chronicled by Frederick Coville in The Botanical Explorations of Thomas Nuttall in California where he noted this plant as "common on dry hills near Santa Barbara". The genus name honors Christoph Entzelt, a 16th century German clergyman and naturalist who wrote about the medicinal uses of plants and animals and Latinized his name to Encelius. The specific epithet is a reference to its native range in California. It is also called California Brittlebush, though its desert cousin Encelia farinosa is more often referred to as "Brittle Bush". This pale yellow selection was made by Carol Bornstein from a planting in the Nature Garden at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and the name is meant to be descriptive of the pale yellow flower as well as be a reference to the museum, which houses an incredible paleontological collection. More about this plant and its discovery can be found on Carol's Nature in LA Blog.
Information displayed on this page about Encelia californica 'Paleo Yellow' is based on the research conducted about it in our library and from reliable online resources. We also note those observations we have made of this plant as it grows in the nursery's garden and in other gardens, as well how crops have performed in our nursery field. We will incorporate comments we receive from others, and welcome to hear from anyone who may have additional information, particularly if they share any cultural information that would aid others in growing it.
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