Northwest Indian Paintbrush
Castilleja angustifolia
zones 3-7
75 seeds
This species of wildflower is known by the common names Northwestern Indian Paintbrush and Desert Indian Paintbrush. It is an herbaceous perennial native to the desert, scrublands, and woodlands of western North America. It grows in hot sandy soils and rock crevices in dry conditions. Indian Paintbrush has bristly gray-green to purple-red herbage. It stands in a clump of erect stems, each topped with an inflorescence of somewhat tubular yellow green flowers. The flowers are encased in bright red to orange-red bracts, sometimes tinted with purple, and usually fuzzy with a thin coat of white hairs. It flowers from May to September. The brightly colored bracts are used to attract pollinators like hummingbirds and butterflies that would otherwise ignore the plant's small yellow green flowers.
Seeds are best sown in the autumn directly outdoors into garden of fine soil. The minute seed should be mixed with potting soil, then broadcast onto the prepared area and gently watered in. Stored seeds will need cold stratification for 3-4 months and sown as early as possible in the spring. Germination, especially of stored seed, is slow. Plants will not flower until the second or third year.
Castilleja angustifolia
zones 3-7
75 seeds
This species of wildflower is known by the common names Northwestern Indian Paintbrush and Desert Indian Paintbrush. It is an herbaceous perennial native to the desert, scrublands, and woodlands of western North America. It grows in hot sandy soils and rock crevices in dry conditions. Indian Paintbrush has bristly gray-green to purple-red herbage. It stands in a clump of erect stems, each topped with an inflorescence of somewhat tubular yellow green flowers. The flowers are encased in bright red to orange-red bracts, sometimes tinted with purple, and usually fuzzy with a thin coat of white hairs. It flowers from May to September. The brightly colored bracts are used to attract pollinators like hummingbirds and butterflies that would otherwise ignore the plant's small yellow green flowers.
Seeds are best sown in the autumn directly outdoors into garden of fine soil. The minute seed should be mixed with potting soil, then broadcast onto the prepared area and gently watered in. Stored seeds will need cold stratification for 3-4 months and sown as early as possible in the spring. Germination, especially of stored seed, is slow. Plants will not flower until the second or third year.
Castilleja angustifolia
zones 3-7
75 seeds
This species of wildflower is known by the common names Northwestern Indian Paintbrush and Desert Indian Paintbrush. It is an herbaceous perennial native to the desert, scrublands, and woodlands of western North America. It grows in hot sandy soils and rock crevices in dry conditions. Indian Paintbrush has bristly gray-green to purple-red herbage. It stands in a clump of erect stems, each topped with an inflorescence of somewhat tubular yellow green flowers. The flowers are encased in bright red to orange-red bracts, sometimes tinted with purple, and usually fuzzy with a thin coat of white hairs. It flowers from May to September. The brightly colored bracts are used to attract pollinators like hummingbirds and butterflies that would otherwise ignore the plant's small yellow green flowers.
Seeds are best sown in the autumn directly outdoors into garden of fine soil. The minute seed should be mixed with potting soil, then broadcast onto the prepared area and gently watered in. Stored seeds will need cold stratification for 3-4 months and sown as early as possible in the spring. Germination, especially of stored seed, is slow. Plants will not flower until the second or third year.