prairie wildflower

Blue Curls

Phacelia congesta

Also known as Caterpillars, Fiddleneck

Native to New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas

Western and northern Texas to eastern Arizona and northern Mexico

Light Full sun to part shade Sun tolerance
Moisture Dry Moisture preference
Zones n/a Cold to heat range
Bloom Mar–May Flowering time
Height up to 3 ft to 0.9 m
Life cycle Annual or biennial Annual to perennial

Full details, see below

In the garden

A prairie wildflower for full sun to part shade and lean, dry soil. Its blue and purple flowers peak in April. At up to 3 ft, it suits meadows and sunny borders.

Growing conditions

Light

Full sun Partial shade Full shade

Moisture

Dry Moist Wet

When it blooms

The Blue Curls's blue and purple flowers bloom March to May, peaking in April. This spring display draws bees and flower flies.

Blue Curls blooms blue & purpleFoliage

Pollinators & wildlife

Bees Common Eastern Bumble Bee

also Western Honey Bee, Eastern Carpenter Bee, Brown-belted Bumble Bee +90 more
Two-spotted Bumble Bee, American Bumble Bee, Yellow-faced Bumble Bee, Ligated Furrow Bee, Tricolored Bumble Bee, Bicolored Striped Sweat Bee, Bombus fervidus, Red-belted Bumble Bee, Hunt's Bumble Bee, Two-spotted Longhorn Bee, Fuzzy-Horned Bumble Bee, European Woolcarder Bee, Two-form Bumble Bee, Half-black Bumble Bee, Orange-legged Furrow Bee, Yellow-fronted Bumble Bee, Vancouver Bumble Bee, Tripartite Sweat Bee, California Bumble Bee, Northern Amber Bumble Bee, Yellow-banded Bumble Bee, Great Basin Bumble Bee, Rusty-patched Bumble Bee, Confusing Furrow Bee, Urbane Digger Bee, Yellowish Cuckoo Bumble bee, Sitka Bumble Bee, Dark-veined Longhorn Bee, Crotch's Bumble Bee, Orange-tipped Wood-digger, Western Bumble Bee, Van Dyke's Bumble Bee, Lucorum-group Bumble Bees, Black-and-gray Leafcutter Bee, Ceratina acantha, Agile Longhorn Bee, Cresson's Sweat Bee, Heath Bumble Bee, Red Mason Bee, Baker's Phacelia-Shortface, Experienced Sweat Bee, Incomplete Sweat Bee, Little Masked Bee, Common Masked Bee, Buff-tailed Bumble Bee, W-labrum Miner, Sharp-collared Furrow Bee, Common Furrow Bee, Little Blue Carpenter Bee, Red-tailed Bumble Bee, Golden Furrow Bee, Yellow-legged Mining Bee, Grey-patched Mining Bee, Osmia pusilla, Hairy-footed Flower Bee, Vestal Cuckoo Bumble bee, Short-haired Bumble Bee, Shrill Carder-Bumble bee, Early Bumble Bee, Gold-fringed Mason Bee, Lasioglossum aeratum, Lobe-spurred Furrow Bee, Great Banded Furrow Bee, Common Carder Bumble Bee, Rufescent Sharp-tail Bee, Lasioglossum interruptum, Lasioglossum malacharum, White-jawed Yellow-face Bee, Bombus sp., Tree Bumble Bee, Ceratina tejonensis, Lasioglossum tegulariforme, Foothill Carpenter Bee, Bombus (Pyrobombus) sp., Peaceful Sweat Bee, Osmia dolerosa, Sleepy Scissor Bee, Bombus ruderatus, Garden Bumble Bee, Forest Cuckoo Bumble bee, Early Mining Bee, Lasioglossum zonulum, Andean Black Longhorn, Great Yellow Bumble Bee, Golden-haired Miner Bee, Splay-footed Carpenter, Clay Bumble Bee, Habropoda depressa, Oval-headed Sweat Bee, Valley Carpenter Bee
Flower flies Margined Calligrapher

also Common Drone Fly, Narrow-headed Marsh Fly, Thick-legged Hover Fly +25 more
Large-tailed Aphideater, Black-margined Flower Fly, Variable Duskyface Fly, Common Flower Fly, Hairy-eyed Flower Fly, Broad-banded Aphideater, Platycheirus albimanus Group, Platycheirus scutatus, Migrant Hover Fly, Common Globetail, Marmalade Hover Fly, Eurasian Smoothwing, Ladder-backed Hover Fly, Spotted Thintail, Sun Fly, Western Forest Sedgesitter, Stripe-winged Drone Fly, Neocnemodon brevidens, Cheilosia albitarsis, Smudge-veined Fen Fly, Tapered Drone Fly, Stripe-backed Brusheye, Black-thighed Flower Fly, Black-tailed Aphideater, Fazia micrura
Butterflies Painted Lady

also Gray Hairstreak, Queen, Funereal Duskywing +7 more
Polyommatus icarus, Propertius Duskywing, Celia's Roadside-Skipper, Small Tortoiseshell, Thymelicus sylvestris, Queen of Spain Fritillary, Green-veined White
Also visited by
- Moths:
  
  Generous and Orange Mint Moths and Allies, Silver Υ +1 more
  Pelochyta amyeaderae
- Wasps: Common European Yellowjacket
- Beetles: Wasp Beetle

Butterflies that use this plant

Documented host and nectar records. Each links to a planting guide for that butterfly.

Full plant details

Where it grows

Habitat: PrairieThe wild plant community it grows in.
Native range: New Mexico, Oklahoma, and TexasUnited States (3): NM, OK, TX. Where it grows wild on its own, by state and province.
Native distribution: Western and northern Texas to eastern Arizona and northern MexicoThe same native range, usually more exact than the state list, and often noting where it has spread beyond it.

Growing conditions

Light: Full sun to part shadeHow much sun it takes, from full sun to full shade.
Moisture: DryThe soil dampness it prefers, from dry to wet.
Soil: Sandy or rocky soils. Gravelly, Sandy, Sandy Loam, Limestone/chalky, Clay, Clay Loam, Medium LoamThe soils it grows in naturally.
Water use: MediumHow thirsty it is, a rough guide to how often to water.

Growth & form

Height: up to 3 ft (to 0.9 m)Typical mature height.
Life cycle: Annual or biennialWhether it lives a single season (annual), two (biennial), or returns for years (perennial).

Flowers, foliage & fruit

Type: WildflowerWhat kind of plant it is.
Bloom: Mar–MayWhen it flowers.
Flower color: Blue, PurpleThe bloom color, or colors.
Fruit/Seeds: ripens Apr–AugThe seed or fruit it sets after flowering.
Toxicity: None knownWhether any part is poisonous to people or pets.