Great Little Tree

If you are looking for a great fast-growing little tree that blooms in the heat of the summer try Malacothamnus densiflorus. In my garden, this plant has reached eight feet tall and 5 feet wide in about two years. Here it is July 4th and it has been blooming now for about month and still going strong. Given a little water, this plant can rebloom later in the year. The pretty rose-pink bowl-shaped flowers are held on long beautiful wands at the ends of the branches. Flowers occur in congested or glomerate clusters of ten-or-more flowers at nodes in long panicles that bloom for an extended period of time, hence the name "densiflorus." The flowers have a fused five-lobed calyx and fused base five-petalled flowers. The stamens are also fused into a tube. They can bloom from May into July, with some scattered blooms later in the season. Palmately veined coarse leaves are gray-green and have 3-5 lobes. Leaves and stems are covered in hairs with the underneath part (abaxial) being especially hairy, with some stellate (star-shaped) hairs. 

Malacothamnus densiflorus flower panicle                                            S. Reeve

This California native occurs South of Los Angeles down into Northern Baja California on low elevation recently burned chaparral slopes and nearby coastal sage scrub. Most literature calls this a shrub, but given today's smaller landscapes, it is also an ideal small tree. Limb it up to make it more tree-like. Some accounts say it can reach 15 feet tall and 10 feet wide. The Jepson Manual says six feet tall. 

Notice the many-flowered nodes, here with spent flowers                                         S. Reeve

The tree has a pleasing weeping appearance when it is bearing the weight of the flower panicles.  This is a low water use plant. I barely water it and it grew this large in two years. Almost lost this plant to gophers at one point as they ate many of the roots. In spite of the hairy leaves that normally make a plant less palatable to herbivores, Malacothamnus is a deer and rabbit favorite. 

Weeping panicles of flowers at terminal ends of branches                                                                S. Reeve

As many of you probably know, I garden primarily for wildlife. My garden is full of plants with high wildlife value, and this one is no exception. White Checkered Skippers and West Coast Lady butterflies use Malacothamnus as a host plant. Additional butterfly species nectar on the flowers. Native ground-nesting bees in the Genus Diadasia favor this plant and males can be found sleeping in the flowers at night. Bowl-shaped petals hide the bee and also make it very convenient for the boys to find eligible females in the morning. Diadasia species are very cute little furry bees that specialize in Malvaceae. Female Diadasia are important pollinators of this plant and carry the pollen back to the nest on the long hairs of their hind legs. Look for them visiting Sphaeralcea flowers too. 

Diadasia species in the flower of Malacothamnus fremontii  Photo by Hartmut Wisch

Other wildlife use this plant too. Anna's hummingbirds are known to pick insects out of the open blooms. Bushtits and other birds eat the seeds in the fall. Ground squirrels also eat the seeds.

Close-up shot of a flower                                                                                                                     S. Reeve

To grow this plant well it needs well-draining sandy loam soil. It can grow in clay if it on a slope or otherwise well-drained. A slightly acidic to slightly alkaline soil pH is best. Malacothamnus is drought tolerant and heat tolerant. Root systems of these plants are wide-spreading and make them well-suited to secure a hillside. Unfortunately, the plant is not long-lived, which seems to be the case with most fast-growing shrubs and trees. Don't be afraid to prune as much as you need to maintain a good form or denser branching. 

Closeup of the leaf and flower                                                                                 S. Reeve

From what I have read, this plant can sucker to form a thicket, yet I have not seen this in my garden. You can dig up suckers and replant elsewhere. I have definitely seen another species, Malacothamnus jonesii, sucker. I think if I watered more I would see more suckering, but I have not. I had Malacothamnus jonesii for several years and it mysteriously and suddenly died. It was a beautiful silver-foliaged plant. Luckily, it put out a couple of suckers before it was no more. I have a sneaking suspicion that my summer watering killed it, as it has killed other natives in the past before I figured out I shouldn't water some of my natives in the summer. It can withstand cold temperatures down to 10-20 degrees F. If you enjoy watching the wildlife that plants can bring you should try growing Malacothamnus densiflorus.