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Prince's Plume (Stanleya pinnata)

from $8.99

Botanical name: Stanleya pinnata • Bloom season: Late spring through summer • Bloom color: Lemon-yellow • Pollinator value: Long nectar window for bees and moths • Host plant: Becker's white, Checkered white

Tall lemon-yellow plumes with long protruding stamens giving the whole spike a feathery, smoke-like look. Each plume is held above blue-green foliage and can reach five feet. It flowers for an unusually long stretch through late spring and summer. It hosts two white butterfly species and offers a long nectar window for bees and moths. One of the most xeric in the Vital Bee Buds selection.

Botanical name: Stanleya pinnata • Bloom season: Late spring through summer • Bloom color: Lemon-yellow • Pollinator value: Long nectar window for bees and moths • Host plant: Becker's white, Checkered white

Tall lemon-yellow plumes with long protruding stamens giving the whole spike a feathery, smoke-like look. Each plume is held above blue-green foliage and can reach five feet. It flowers for an unusually long stretch through late spring and summer. It hosts two white butterfly species and offers a long nectar window for bees and moths. One of the most xeric in the Vital Bee Buds selection.

Size:

Plant Characteristics

Botanical Name: Stanleya pinnata

Common Name: Prince's Plume

Native: Native

Native Region: Great Basin; Colorado Plateau; Mojave Desert; Wyoming Basin; Western Great Plains

Sun: Full Sun

Water: Low

Bloom Time: Late spring through summer

Bloom Color: Lemon-yellow

Pollinators: Bees; Butterflies; Hummingbirds; Moths

Host Plant: Becker's white, Checkered white

Deer Resistant: Yes

Mature Size: W 1'-2' x H 3'-5'

Soil: Sharply drained; poor, sandy or rocky soil

Pollinator Value: Long nectar window for bees and moths

Plant Type: Herbaceous perennial

USDA Zones: 4 to 9

Spread Habit: Clumping; self-sows

Available As: Live plant

Growing Notes

Full sun and sharply drained, poor, sandy or rocky ground. It grows naturally on selenium-rich desert soils and it genuinely wants poverty: fertilizer and irrigation both damage it. Space about 2 feet apart. Do not amend the planting hole and keep it out of watered beds.

  • Water: Low

  • Sun: Full Sun

  • Soil: Sharply drained; poor, sandy or rocky soil

  • Mature size: 3 to 5 ft by 1 to 2 ft

Maintenance

Leave the stems standing through winter and cut back in late spring, keeping about a third for insects. Do not fertilize, ever, and do not water once established. It has a deep taproot and dislikes disturbance, so do not attempt to move or divide it. Let it self-sow if you want more.