Sulphur Buckwheat in the Landscape

Diane Jones, Draggin' Wing Farm, Water-thrifty Plants for Idaho

Scientfic Name:  Eriogonum umbellatum
Common Name:  Sulfur Buckwheat, Sulfurflower Buckwheat, Umbrella Desert Buckwheat

Description:  Sulfur-yellow ball-like flower stalks over a woody base of leathery, oval leaves.

Native Habitat:  Widespread and highly variable throughout the arid Intermountain West from sagebrush deserts to alpine rocky ridges from 4,000 to above 10,000. Very cold hardy.

Cultural Requirement

Soil:  Tolerant of a range of soil types; grows well in poor, rocky soil or garden loam.

Moisture Tolerance:  Extremely xeric.

Sun/Shade/Preference:  Full sun.

Transplanting:  Transplants well from containers; do not attempt to dig plants in the wild.

Propagation:  Seed.

Maintenance (pruning, fertilization, deadheading, division, irrigation, etc):  No maintenance necessary. Spent flower stalks may be removed in the spring.

Insect, disease, or other problems:  None of concern.

Landscape Value

Use in the Landscape:  Dark mound of semi-evergreen foliage is attractive in and out of bloom. Highly valuable, underused landscape plant; flowers are nice in dried flower arrangements.

Foliage:  Spoon-shaped, dark green, leathery leaves.

Flower:  Sulfur pom-poms fade orange, copper or even red after blooming. They remain attractive in the landscape, so deadheading is not necessary.

Timing:  Early - Mid-summer.

Color:  Various shade of yellow from pale to deep sulfur.

Form:  Low, mounding, semi-evergreen

Texture:  Woody, leathery

Ultimate Size:  Base is 4"-6" tall x 12" 24" wide; flowering stalks may reach 24" or more

Rate of Growth:  Moderate growth with supplemental water

Suggested Plant Partners:  Sagebrush, Rabbitbrush, Woolly Sunflower

Availability:  Available at specialty nurseries

Cultivars:  Over 30 recognized varieties, including a few named ones: ‘Kannah Creek", "Shasta",  and "Sierra"

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