Plants for Birds in the Northwest

As William Cullina mentions in his article on plant life for birds , the pitiful reality is songbird are go away : “ Habitat deprivation , pesticides , and the accompany decline of insect populations have contributed to a exit of 25 to 30 percent of North American songbirds since 1970 . ”

But gardener can help , and it just requires buying young plants ! By growing more plants that help support local hoot population , you could do your part . Find plants for birds in the Northwest below , and discover even more plant for birds in William ’s clause , Native Plants for the Birds .

1. Golden Raindrops®Crabapple

Name:Malus transitoria‘Schmidtcutleaf’

Zones:3–8

Size:20 feet grandiloquent and 15 foundation wide

shape : Full sun ; adapts to many types of well - drained soil

aboriginal reach : Eastern Asia

This bird - friendly tree diagram provides tax shelter , secure nesting , stead to perch , and wintertime nutrient . Crabapple trees have gotten a bad rap because of their mussy fruit drop , but the tiny yield of Golden Raindrops ® clings to the branches through the winter , fertilize birds over a long season . The low - grow , vaselike wont makes this an excellent choice for modest gardens . It offers multiple seasons of interest , with pale pink to livid flowers in spring , followed by deeply cut foliage that turn bright orange to yellow in declension . Bare branches dust with bunch of golden crabapple round out the year .

2. ‘King Edward VII’ Red-Flowering Currant

Name:Ribes sanguineum‘King Edward VII’

Zones:6–9

Size:6 to 8 feet tall and all-embracing

precondition : Full sun to fond specter ; well - debilitate soil

Native stove : Coastal areas from southwestern British Columbia through westerly Washington , Oregon , and Northern California

A nominate cultivar of a fabulous Pacific Northwest native , ‘ King Edward VII ’ provides birds with both shelter and intellectual nourishment . The vibrant , deep fuchsia flowers attract hummingbirds and provide them with ambrosia in late spring . As leaf fill the arm in former summertime , the shrub bring home the bacon protection for other birds , and modest dark berry cater food from late summertime into spill . I love group three or more plants to make a lifelike thicket at the edge of a timber or border . This easy - to - arise shrub flowers more heavily in full Sunday but run to be more drought tolerant in partial shade once established .

3. Pacific Wax Myrtle

Name:Morella californicasyn.Myrica californica

Zones:7–9

Size:8 to 10 invertebrate foot magniloquent and wide-cut

precondition : Full sun to full specter ; moist , well- drained grime

Native range : Coastal domain of the Pacific Northwest

peaceable wax Vinca minor is a various evergreen bush that is underutilized in garden aim . Its dense , fruticulose habit shelter birds through wintertime and gives them nesting places in spring . Tiny white flower in belated May are keep abreast by small dark fruits in fall that persist through winter . This is a good screening flora ; it makes a fabulous addition to mixed hedgerows with other bird - favorable plant and can be planted as shelter near bird - attracting perennial and feeders . peaceable wax myrtle tolerates some pruning and shaping , but I think its lifelike ramification habit is beautiful . It is drouth patient of once established and suitable for garden in coastal areas because of its tolerance to common salt spray .

4. ‘White Swan’ Coneflower

Name:Echinacea purpurea‘White Swan’

Zones:4–8

Size:2 to 3 fundament improbable and 2 foot wide

consideration : Full Lord’s Day ; average to lean soil

Native range : primal and southeastern North America

‘ White Swan ’ is an excellent version of the classic coneflower , with slightly flag lily-white petals that stay nice and shining during the flowering season . Give it the correct atmospheric condition and you will be repay with abundant summertime blooms that attract butterfly and other pollinator . If you do not disregard down the dead flowers , their unbending stems will stay erect most of the winter , offering a bounty of seed for songbird . fend off plant food and to a great extent compost grease , which tend to make coneflowers wimpy . The flora can be tedious to emerge in late outpouring , but once the summertime heat incur them blooming they will keep producing flowers into crepuscle .

Sue Goetz is a plantsman , landscape couturier , author , and verbalizer in Tacoma , Washington .

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Pacific Wax Myrtle

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Plants for Birds in the Northeast

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