According to the California Native Plant Society’s Calscape.org, there are 251 varieties of buckwheat (Eriogonum) native to California! You can go to Calscape.org and see for yourself all of the beautiful buckwheat varieties that grow in the state.

Three different varieties of buckwheat are growing in my home garden currently, and I am looking forward to adding the ‘Dana Point’ selection being offered to homeowners through A Buckwheat in Every Garden this October.

After I pick up my free ‘Dana Point’ buckwheat in October, I will install it in my garden near the sidewalk leading to the front door.

Dana Point buckwheat provides seeds for the birds, habitat for lizards, and nectar for many varieties of tiny California native bees and butterflies.

Buckwheats are hardy and easy to establish. Plant them in a sunny place in the garden without amendments or fertilizers and they will thrive. California buckwheats rarely need pruning–once a year in December at most. After the plant is established, rainfall is all of the water a buckwheat will need, but watering the plant once a month will keep it green longer.

At right is a photo of Ashyleaf Buckwheat (Eriogonum cinereum) that I planted in my garden three weeks ago. This wild buckwheat grows on beaches and bluffs in California. Ashyleaf buckwheat is the food plant for the Euphilotes bernardino, the Bernardino dotted blue butterfly.

The next post will talk about the Orange County chapter of the California Native Plant Society’s buckwheat giveaway in more detail, providing specific dates and places where you can get your free, four-inch ‘Dana Point’ California buckwheat plant in October and November while supplies last.