Siskiyou Lewisia

Siskiyou lewisia (Lewisia cotyledon) is a cute flowering plant for the rock garden or a wall crevice.

Common name: Siskiyou lewisia

Botanical name:Lewisia cotyledon

Siskiyou lewisia forms a rosette of leaves from which sprout panicles of inch-wide flowers.

Virtues: Bright flowers and compact shape. Likes to grow on ledges and cliffs, making it a good choice for a dry rock garden, in the crevices of a wall or in a strawberry pot.

Flowers: White, pink, yellow, or purplish flowers appear in spring and summer, carried in compact panicles (branched flowering structure). Flowers can be striped with lighter and darker shades.

Foliage: Fleshy, spoon-shaped dark green leaves.

Habit: Leaves form flat rosettes. Evergreen perennial. To 12 inches tall and 12 inches wide.

Season: Spring and summer, for flowers.

Origin: Rocky embankments of northern California and southern Oregon.

Cultivation: Grow in light shade to full sun. Good drainage is a must, as is protection from winter moisture. Soil may be neutral or acidic. Zones 3–8.

Horticulture January 2010 is available as a download; it includes 50 great native plants.