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California Bluebell
Phacelia minor
  
3 Nurseries Carry This Plant

About California Bluebell (Phacelia minor) 3 Nurseries Carry This Plant Phacelia minor is a species in the Boraginaceae (Forget-me-not) family known by the common name California Bluebell. It is native to southern California and Baja California, where it grows in coastal sage scrub and chaparral, in the deserts and coastal and inland mountains, and in areas recently burned. It is an annual herb producing a mostly unbranched erect stem 20 to 60 centimeters tall. It is hairy and coated in stiff glandular hairs. The leaves are up to 11 centimeters long with toothed, crinkly, oval or rounded blades borne on long petioles. The showy flower cluster is a one-sided curving or coiling cyme of many bell-shaped flowers, each up to 4 centimeters in length. The large flowers are lavender to deep blue-purple in color with protruding stamens tipped with white anthers. It is a small but showy flower that does well in dry, inland gardens. It can be easily confused with Phacelia parryi, and their ranges overlap, but more easily distinguished when in flower.

It should be noted that there are a very large number of species in the genus Phacelia. Most are annuals. Gardeners should look for species appropriate to their area and garden conditions.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Annual herb

Size
Size
0.7 - 2 ft tall
1 - 2 ft wide

Growth Rate
Growth Rate
Fast

Flower Color
Flower Color
Blue, Lavender

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Spring

Wildlife Supported
 


 
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 9 likely * ) SHOW ALL
*
Hyles lineata Image
White-lined Sphinx Hyles lineataHyles lineata
*
Megalographa biloba Image
Bilobed Looper Moth Megalographa bilobaMegalographa biloba
*
Amblyptilia pica Image
Geranium Plume Moth Amblyptilia picaAmblyptilia pica
*
Argyrotaenia franciscana Image
Orange Tortrix Moth Argyrotaenia franciscanaArgyrotaenia franciscana
*
Clepsis fucana Image
Clepsis fucanaClepsis fucana
*
Annaphila ida Image
Annaphila idaAnnaphila ida
*
Ethmia brevistriga Image
Ethmia brevistrigaEthmia brevistriga

Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Full Sun

Moisture
Moisture
Very Low

Summer Irrigation
Summer Irrigation
Max 1x / month once established

Nurseries
Nurseries
Carried by 3

Cold Tolerance
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to 15° F

Soil Drainage
Soil Drainage
Fast

Soil Description
Soil Description
Usually found in grainy soils such as desert sand or decomposed granite

Common uses
Common uses
Butterfly Gardens, Bee Gardens

Companion Plants
Companion Plants
Use as part of an open wildflower area with a wide variety of shrubs and subshrubs, as well as other annuals. Examples include Manzanita (Arctostaphylos sp.), Ceanothus sp., Brittlebush (Encelia sp.), Chuparosa (Justicia californica), Jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis), Desert Sand Verbena (Abronia villosa), Thistle Sage (Salvia carduacea), Chia (Salvia columbariae), and Penstemon sp.

Propagation
Propagation?
By seed

Natural Setting
Site Type
Site Type
Openings in shrubs on slopes in hot, dry places

Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 4.0" - 46.1", Summer Precipitation: 0.19" - 2.95", Coldest Month: 36.9" - 59.1", Hottest Month: 63.3" - 87.5", Humidity: 0.99" - 38.66", Elevation: 11" - 6109"

Alternative Names
Common Names: Wild Canterbury Bells


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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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