prairie wildflower

Lacy phacelia

Phacelia tanacetifolia

Also known as Lacy Scorpion-weed

Native to Arizona, California, and Nevada

Much of California to Arizona

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

Full details, see below

In the garden

A prairie wildflower for full sun and lean, dry soil. Its blue flowers peak in May. 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 Lacy phacelia's blue flowers bloom March to November, peaking in May. This late-spring display draws bees and flower flies.

Lacy phacelia blooms blueFoliage

Pollinators & wildlife

Bees Common Eastern Bumble Bee

also Western Honey Bee, Brown-belted Bumble Bee, Two-spotted Bumble Bee +89 more
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, Polyommatus icarus, Propertius Duskywing +4 more
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: Arizona, California, and NevadaUnited States (3): AZ, CA, NV. Where it grows wild on its own, by state and province.
Native distribution: Much of California to ArizonaThe same native range, usually more exact than the state list, and often noting where it has spread beyond it.

Growing conditions

Light: Full sunHow much sun it takes, from full sun to full shade.
Moisture: DryThe soil dampness it prefers, from dry to wet.
Soil: Rocky or sandy soilsThe soils it grows in naturally.
Soil texture: Light to heavy (sandy to clay)The soil grade it prefers, from sand to clay.
Soil pH: 6.4–8.6The acidity to alkalinity it tolerates (7 is neutral).
Soil quality: LowHow rich a soil it needs. Many natives prefer lean soil and flop in rich beds.
Water use: MediumHow thirsty it is, a rough guide to how often to water.
Salinity tolerance: LowHow well it copes with salty soil, near roads or the coast.
Lime (CaCO₃) tolerance: MediumHow well it copes with chalky, lime-rich soil.

Growth & form

Height: up to 3 ft (to 0.9 m)Typical mature height.
Spread: ~1 ft (0.3 m)How wide one plant gets, a guide to spacing.
Life cycle: AnnualWhether it lives a single season (annual), two (biennial), or returns for years (perennial).
Growth rate: RapidA relative ranking versus other plants of the same type (USDA), not an absolute rate.
Shape: ErectIts overall silhouette.
Root depth: 10+ in (25+ cm)How far the roots reach, a guide to drought resilience and transplanting.

Flowers, foliage & fruit

Type: WildflowerWhat kind of plant it is.
Bloom: Mar–NovWhen it flowers.
Flower color: BlueThe bloom color, or colors.
Fruit/Seeds: ripens Jan–NovThe seed or fruit it sets after flowering.
Toxicity: Poisonous if eatenWhether any part is poisonous to people or pets.

Propagation & seed

Cold stratification: Not requiredWhether seed needs a cold, moist spell before it will germinate.
Propagation: SeedHow to start new plants.
Seed: ~0.2 million seeds per poundNotes on the seed and how to sow it.
Seed spread rate: SlowHow readily it self-sows. Slow or none means well-behaved, not a spreader.
Seedling vigor: MediumHow strongly young seedlings establish.
Vegetative spread: NoneWhether it creeps outward or stays put in a clump.