Pendulous flower clusters, which consist of numerous lightly fragrant, pink to reddish tubular flowers, bloom in profusion along this shrub\u2019s many stems. They offer nectar and pollen\u00a0at a time\u00a0when early-emerging pollinators \u2014 such as queen bumble bees who must secure a nest and provide for offspring all by themselves \u2014 have little else to eat. The early blossoms are also attractive to birds, especially\u00a0hummingbirds<\/a>, but also bushtits, making this species a hub of wildlife activity for well over a month. Later on, when berries ripen as summer wanes, birds such as\u00a0American robins<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0cedar waxwings<\/a>\u00a0feast (we can also eat them but they are rather tasteless). The small, lobed leaves\u00a0may provide food for zephyr (Polygonia gracilis zephyrus),\u00a0Ceanothus silkmoth (Hyalophora euryalus), and other butterfly and moth\u00a0larvae, which in turn supply food for insectivorous birds.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\nMy 2020 plans for these plants are to keep them watered a bit as they continue to become established and sneak more cuttings off of them as I can for sales and gifts. I\u2019m not sure I\u2019ll get flowers next spring, but I imagine I will in 2022 and for many years to come.<\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Red flowering currant shrubs have been on my wish list for a while, but it wasn\u2019t until I started landscaping with native plants that I actually added some to the garden. I purchased two of them from Seattle Native Plants this spring and Mark, the owner, sent me two pots with two strong currant starts … Continue reading Plant-A-Day 2020 (Day 249) Ribes sanguineum<\/span>