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Maine Wildflowers: Colt's Foot Provides Food for Early Bees and Butterflies

3/6/2018

3 Comments

 
Colt's Foot
Colt's Foot ©Nannette Richford
The lowly Colt's Foot (Tussilago farfara) flower is often overlooked as it grows in early spring along roadsides and ditches. From a distance it looks like a dandelion, but when you take a closeup look at this flower, you will be amazed by it's beauty.
Colt's Foot
Colt's Foot ©Nannette Richford
Colt's Foot is a composite flower, which means what we commonly call the flower or bloom is really made up of hundreds of tiny flowers. Ray flowers (that look like petals) make up the outer rim of the flower, while the center eye of the flower contains hundreds of complete flowers.
Colt's Foot
Colt's Foot ©Nannette Richford
When the Colt's Foot flower first opens, you will see tiny yellow buds in the center, but within a day or two the tiny buds open to reveal miniature flowers that remind me of daffodils.

Colt's Foot flowers provide nectar and pollen to hungry bees and flying insects in the spring before many other flowers have bloomed.
3 Comments
Bill Whitman
5/10/2019 10:05:29 am

it would be kind to gardeners if you mentioned how hellishly invasive this plant is. it's as hard to get rid of as japanese knotweed. roots are linear like milkweed and thistles. best for containers only and don't let those beautiful flowers go to seed. you WILL regret it.
although I don't advocate the use of Roundup, it will kill plants like this, thistles and poison ivy. dip a sponge in Roundup and brushe it on only the leaves of the invasive. works great and only affects the invasive.

Reply
Nannette
5/10/2019 06:36:46 pm

Bill, you are absolutely correct. Thanks for bringing it up. It never occurred to me that anyone would grow them in their garden. I find them along the roadside and enjoy taking photos of them.

Reply
Alice Haines
5/14/2022 01:15:18 am

I really wish you would remove Colt's Foot from your website or at least not praise it as nutritious for insects. It is invasive and is threatening to choke our small stream that harbors native brook trout.

Reply



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Copyright © 2014 Nannette Richford



Photo used under Creative Commons from MyArtfulLife
  • Home
  • Garden Thyme Blog
  • Themes
    • Butterfly Gardens
    • Moon Gardens
    • Sensory Gardens
    • All About Fairies
  • Flowers
    • Annual Flowers >
      • Alyssum
      • Cosmos
      • Geraniums
      • Marigolds
      • Morning Glories
      • Nasturtiums
      • Petunias >
        • Reviving Petunias
      • Snapdragons
      • Sunflowers
      • Sweet Peas
      • Zinnias
    • Perennial Flowers >
      • Golden Glow (Rudbeckia laciniata ‘Hortensia’)
      • Lupines
      • Purple Coneflower (Echinacea Purpurea)
    • Maine Wildflowers
  • Veggies
    • Warm Season Vegetables >
      • About Beans >
        • Growing Beans
        • Growing Pole Beans
        • How to Make a Teepee Trellis
      • About Corn >
        • Growing Corn
        • What is Baby Corn, anyway?
        • Can you grow corn in containers?
      • Cucumbers >
        • Grow a cucumber in a bottle
        • Growing Pickling Cucumbers
        • Growing cucamelons (Mexican Gherkin)
        • Why do cucumbers blossom but fail to set fruit?
        • Trellising Cucumbers
        • Making Cucumber Relish
        • Powdery Mildew on Cucumbers
      • Melons
      • Peppers >
        • Growing Peppers
      • Squash >
        • Growing Zucchini
        • Spaghetti Squash
      • Tomatoes >
        • How to Harden Off Tomato Plants
        • How (and when) to Prune Tomatoes
        • Magnesium Sulfate (Epsom Salt) for Tomatoes
        • Blossom End Rot in Tomatoes
        • Growing Cherry Tomatoes in Hanging Baskets
        • 4 Best Tomatoes for Short Seasons - Early Tomatoes
        • 5 Early Maturing Tomatoes for Short Season Gardening
        • How to Ripen Green Tomatoes
        • How to Make Sun-Dried Tomatoes at Home
        • How to Grow a Pomato Plant
    • Cool Season Vegetables >
      • Cole Crops
      • Greens >
        • How to Grow Spinach
        • How to Grow Malabar Spinach
        • How to Grow Swiss Chard
        • Harvesting and Cooking Beet Greens
        • How to Grow Microgreens
      • Onions & Garlic >
        • How to Grow Garlic
        • How to Grow Onions
      • Peas >
        • Growing Garden (shelling) Peas
        • Growing Sugar Snap Peas
      • Potatoes >
        • How to Grow Potatoes in Containers
        • How to Grow Potatoes in Hay Bales
      • Root Crops >
        • Growing Beets
        • How to Grow Carrots
        • Turnips vs Rutabagas
  • Herbs
    • Growing Basil
    • Growing Chives
    • Growing Lavender
    • Herbal Tea Garden
    • How to Grow a Culinary Herb Garden
    • How to Grow Herbs in Sponges
    • Colonial Herb Garden - Classroom Project
    • Herbed Butter
    • Making Herbed Oils
  • Gardening Basics
    • Seed Starting Basics
    • Grafting Basics
    • Soil >
      • Starting a New Garden
      • How to Prepare Soil
      • How to Test Soil Drainage
      • What Type of Soil Do You Have
      • Soil Mix Recipe for Containers
      • How to Make Compost Tea
      • How to Use Mulch
  • Garden Pests
    • How to Control Japanese Beetles
    • How to Control Blister Beetles
    • How to Get Rid of Colorado Potato Beetles
  • Birds
    • Hummingbirds >
      • DIY Hummingbird Feeders from Recycled Bottles
      • Annuals for Hummingbird Gardens
      • Perennials for Hummingbird Gardens
    • About Birdseed
    • Choosing a Birdfeeder
  • Fiddleheads and Fairies
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • How to Marinate Roasted Vegetables