Category Archives: Conoclinium greggii

Pollinators’ Delight

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As of mid December, my garden has experienced only the slightest touch of a light freeze, so some plants are still blooming, especially those plants which hug close to the ground. The late season availability of flowers makes for happy, busy pollinators during sunny days.

The autumn blooming ground-cover, Gregg’s Mistflower, Conoclinium greggii, is a favorite of many pollinators, big and small. This native-to-Texas perennial boasts bright green foliage and vibrant flowers with a fuzzy structure that pollinators adore.

I’ve seen many a Grey Hairstreak, Strymon melinus, nectaring on the mistflowers. This is one of its kind visiting, wings spread wide, proboscis deep in the bloom.

Another common pollinator of the popular aster are Fiery Kippers, Hylephila phyleus. I particularly like the orange and brown of the skipper paired with the bloom’s rich lavender color.

An American Hoverfly, Eupeodes americanus, can’t resist the bounty of the mistflower. I’ve seen other flies pollinating, but catching them in action proves elusive on breezy days. This yellow-n-black stripey fella cooperated with the photo session.

As always in my garden, the honeybees are active. If there’s a flower available for sipping, honeybees are all-in.

Yellow is a color of autumn and this Little Yellow, Pyrisitia lisa, is one of several who’ve worked the patch of mistflower for the past few weeks. 

The Queen rules the mistflower. Queen butterflies, Danaus gilippus, are regulars in my garden. During autumn and until the first hard freeze, they’re particularly fond of Gregg’s Mistflower; Queens are some of its most loyal customers.  This male Queen, along with several others of both genders, flit to the mistflower once the sun is shining on the blooms.

Male Queens and Monarchs have two black dots on their hindwings, located on either side of their abdomen. The black dots emit pheromones to attract the females. And they look cool, too!

Another queenly view…

Weirdly, Monarchs, Danaus plexippus, are still migrating through Central Texas on their way to their Northern Mexico wintering homes. I don’t recall seeing monarchs this late in fall, but I’m happy that there’s plenty for them to nectar from.

This Monarch’s wing looks like it met with a predator or possibly another kind of accident. It flew well though and I’m sure it will have no trouble getting to Mexico–assuming no other mishaps.

Tres mariposas, three butterflies–all in a row! Two Queens (left and center) and one Monarch, far right. Did I mention that these butterflies love Gregg’s Mistflower? Often there are even more individuals snacking at the patch of flowers.

More admiring fans of mistflower are Painted Lady butterflies, Vanessa cardui. The ones visiting my mistflower have been skittish, but I finally caught a couple of photos demonstrating their enjoyment of the flowers–and their beauty.

These are but a few of the pollinators working this popular flower during the zenith of its bloom season. Not shown, but definitely groupies of Gregg’s Mistflower, are multitudes of tiny native bees (which never seem to perch and pollinate, but must do?) and other too-quick-to-catch-with-the-camera butterflies. This lovely plant will bloom and provide for pollinators until a hard freeze renders it dead for the season. Fuzzy blooms then turn a warm toasty color and over time, mistflower fluff drifts with the breezes. 

In a few month’s time and with spring’s warmth, new growth will emerge from the soil, signature puffy flowers will appear in clusters, and pollinators will return.

A Tale of Two Mistflowers

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October is the month for mistflowers in my garden. I grow three different ones, two of them closely related. My original mistflower is the Blue mistflower, Conoclinium coelestinum.

My first experience with this plant was a four-inch pot, purchase 20-ish years ago. It spread with joy and bloomed gorgeously many an October, until deep shade forced its move to a different spot along this pathway. As this second area has become shadier, it’s time for another move. Soon, I’ll pull the strands up by their roots and transplant the lot to my SIL’s garden. That said, the Blue mistflower has grown and bloomed in this less than ideal situation, perhaps not like it should, but enough to satisfy.

Blue mistflower blooms are a rich purple-blue, its leaves slightly scalloped and triangular shaped.

My other Conoclinium is Gregg’s mistflower, Conoclinium greggii, happily grows in one of my rare full sun spots. I planted this group from a one gallon pot a year ago and it has thrived.

The Gregg’s blooms boast a lighter shade of lavender-blue–more lavender than blue, I think. The foliage is bright green with a pinnate leaf structure. I admire the foliage and even when not blooming, this mistflower is an attractive groundcover.

The spent blooms turn to toasty puffs as they mature, or once a freeze ends the blooming.

Mistflower blooms are fuzzy and feathery.

The lighter Gregg’s,

…the darker Blue.

Mistflowers bloom primarily in autumn, but pop out a few flowers throughout spring and summer. These plants are groundcovers, drought tolerant (Gregg’s more than Blue) and dormant in winter. I prefer the Blue mistflower–the color is divine–but pollinators prefer the Gregg’s.

Unknown fly-type enjoying some of Gregg’s nectar.
Unknown wasp (I think it’s a wasp…) on Gregg’s flowers. Any ideas who this character is?

There are other “mistflower” plants, several in shrub form, but these two blue-hued mists are well-worth growing. Gregg’s mistflower grows in Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico. Blue mistflower enjoys a much wider range throughout the United States.

You won’t tell a sad tale with either of these mistflowers!

October Blooms

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Spring has sprung!

Oh, that’s not right. But it is. Sort of.

Here in Central Texas, zone 8b, we’re enjoying our second spring, so called because the native annuals and perennials burst out with a bevy of blooms, celebrating the end of the hot season and the return of the cool.

And how cool are these lovelies? Gregg’s mistflower, Conoclinium greggii, are native to the southwest–Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. A mostly autumn blooming groundcover, established plants produce a smattering of blooms during spring and summer. During months when the fuzzy blooms are on hiatus, the stars of this plant are the palmate, light green leaves. The combination of the lavender-blue blooms and the cheery green leaves gladdens this gardener’s heart.

This time of year, you’d be hard-pressed to find a mistflower group who doesn’t host a remarkable variety of pollinators, they’re all over these pretty blooms. That also gladdens this gardener’s heart.

Coral vine, Mexican creeper, Antigonon leptopus, is an old-fashioned vine, resplendent in dripping pink in the latter part of summer and well into the fall months.

I’ve grown this vine in my garden for many years. It resided in the back garden. It returned after winter each spring, climbing up and over a trellis during during the growing season, until that spot became too shady. About 3 years ago, I moved the hefty root to my front garden, where the vine receives ample sun. The vine is happy here, as are the honeybees, small native Perdita bees, and various butterfly types.

I love this vine and am comfortable with it where I garden, but Coral vine is designated as an invasive species here in Texas (click on the link above for more information) and so should be grown with caution and attention to nearby areas. I wouldn’t plant Coral vine if I lived near a greenbelt or natural area, because it’s known to seed out and once it is in a uncontrolled area, it can spread and displace native plants, which is never a good thing. In my years of hosting this vine, I’ve only seen 2 or 3 seedlings that germinated at the base of the plant. I’ve never seen birds nibble at any seeds, so I plan to keep it where it is–pink and pretty and full of the good stuff for bees and other pollinators.

The happy faces of Fall aster, Symphyotrichum oblongifolium, arrive along with cooler temperatures–which makes everyone happy. These cheery, lavender asters don’t bloom for long, maybe 2 weeks in total. I have several groups of them, each of which bloom with slightly different times, so in my garden, the aster show lasts through much of October. For the rest of the growing season, the plant grows as a low shrub/ground cover with attractive, diminutive leaves. In winter, a hard freeze will knock back most of the foliage, leaving an evergreen rosette until new spring growth.

Another pollinator magnet, the asters always have plenty of nectaring business and often host rarely seen winged things. This Syrphid fly (?) is unknown to me; the closest ID I could find is Hoplitimyia constans. I’ll continue looking for an identification and update if I find a match. It’s a handsome critter, no doubt.

Sunshiny Plateau goldeneye, Viguiera dentata, is another native perennial, seeding out with abandon and rocking its yellow vibe with verve. Bees, butterflies, and gardeners all love this member of the Asteraceae family. I just realized that 3 of the 4 plants profiled for this post belong to this prolific family. Aster plants are garden stars!

Goldeneye volunteers pop up in my garden and depending upon where they land, I keep–or not. There are so many, I don’t mind tossing out a few. Well, I don’t mind too much. Goldeneye individuals grow tall, so I make some (rather) lame attempts at control, pruning it back a couple of times during summer. But once the fall rains arrive and Goldeneye send forth their end-of-season stems, gloriously topped with dabs of sunny delight, I don’t mess with them.

I stand, admire, and don some sunglasses.

In a work/storage area, I let these seed out, grow up, and have at it! The bees and butterflies love this buffet of pollen-n-nectar. The fun doesn’t end when the blooms end, because wrens and finches of various sorts swoop in for the seeds, assuring a good crop of Goldeneye for the next year.

There are always more Goldeneye.

Happy spring! Happy autumn! Happy blooms! Join in celebrating blooms along with Carol at May Dreams Garden and gardening friends. Pop over to appreciate blooms from many places.