- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
It's raining rain lilies in the Carolee Shields White Flower Garden of the UC Davis Arboretum.
The Argentine Rain Lily (Zephyranthes candida), also known as the White Rain Lily, White Fairy Lily and White Zephyr Lily, is drawing a few honey bees, but the bees like the lavender and sage best.
The white Zeph is one of the "Arboretum All-Stars," a list of 100 plants that thrive in the Central Valley and stay attractive most of the year. Most of the All-Stars are also drought tolerant, require little maintenance, and are relatively pest free, Arboretum officials say. A few--about 15--are California natives.
You can find the All-Stars (and other plants) at the Arboretum's periodic plant sales; the next sales are Oct. 3 and Oct. 17.
"Bee there" for bee-friendly plants and other selections.
At the last sale, we picked up some sage and a carnivorous plant.
To be honest, we were happy the carnivorous plant died. It ate one of our honey bees.
The UC Davis Arboretum has been working to develop a list of plants that are specifically chosen for the Central Valley. This list, called the “Arboretum All-Stars,” has been developed over many years using the Arboretum and other research sites to test and trial plant species. The official “roll out” of the program is planned for spring 2009, but the plant species list and other information is available now at http://arboretum.ucdavis.edu. In addition to creating the list, the program plans to encourage wholesale nurseries to grow these plants in large enough quantity to supply an interested public, and to educate the public to look and ask for these species.
All of the 100 plants on the list had to meet the following criteria: they must be attractive most of the year, thrive in Central Valley conditions, and have been tested at the UC Davis Arboretum. Many of them are also drought tolerant, require little maintenance and can reduce use of pesticides by being relatively pest-free and by attracting beneficial wildlife that feed on pests before they become a problem. About 15 of the species are California native plants.
My pink oxblood lilies came up again this year.