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St. Catherine's Lace
Eriogonum giganteum
  
About St. Catherine's Lace (Eriogonum giganteum) 74 Nurseries Carry This Plant St. Catherine's lace (Eriogonum giganteum) is large and showy buckwheat endemic to the Channel Islands of California. It flowers densely, in carpets of clustered tiny pinkish white flowers. Young flower heads are white and lacy, gradually turning to warm, reddish brown over the summer. This plant is fast-growing and variable in size, from 2 feet tall and wide to a sprawling or rounded bush over 9 feet high and wide. One variety, the Santa Barbara Island buckwheat, is particularly rare so should not be planted next to wildlands, especially in areas where it can hybridize with natural populations of cross-compatible species of Eriogonum.

In the garden, the plant likes fast-draining, preferably rocky, soil and regular water until it is established. It is clay tolerant when drainage is fast. It grows in full sun and adapts to high inland temperatures but does not do well in frost. Cut back after bloom.

The UC Davis Arboretum named this wildlife-friendly plant one of its "All-Stars" for use in California landscapes. It supports honey bees, native bees, birds and small mammals and hosts a likely total of 12 species of butterfly and moths.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Shrub

Size
Size
1.6 - 5 ft tall
4 - 10 ft wide

Form
Form
Mounding, Rounded

Growth Rate
Growth Rate
Fast

Dormancy
Dormancy
Evergreen, Winter Semi-Deciduous

Flower Color
Flower Color
Cream, Pink, White

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Spring, Summer, Fall

Wildlife Supported
 
Butterflies, honey bees, native bees, birds and small mammals

 

Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Full Sun

Moisture
Moisture
Very Low

Summer Irrigation
Summer Irrigation
Max 1x / month once established

Nurseries
Nurseries

Ease of Care
Ease of Care
Very Easy

Cold Tolerance
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to 15 - 25° F

Soil Drainage
Soil Drainage
Fast

Soil Description
Soil Description
Rocky, gravelly. Soil PH: 6.0 - 8.0

Common uses
Common uses
Bank Stabilization, Deer Resistant, Bird Gardens, Butterfly Gardens, Bee Gardens

Maintenance
Maintenance
Pinch back rapidly-growing stem tips to increase the plant's density. Deadhead the spent flower stalks. (Remember to harvest mature seeds of some flower heads, if desired.)

Propagation
Propagation?
Self seeds. Hybridizes with E. arborescens and E. fasciculatum. The hybrid of E. giganteum and E. arborescens is sold as Eriogonum blissianum. For propagating by seed: No treatment.

Natural Setting
Site Type
Site Type
Dry rocky places as part of coastal sage scrub or chaparral, primarily on the Channel Islands

Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 7.9" - 17.9", Summer Precipitation: 0.15" - 0.30", Coldest Month: 49.2" - 57.4", Hottest Month: 64.4" - 73.3", Humidity: 1.45" - 17.87", Elevation: -215" - 1650"


Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links:   Jepson eFlora Taxon Page  CalPhotos  Wikipedia  Calflora


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