Wikimedia Commons
Polemoniaceae
Scarlet Gilia
Ipomopsis aggregata
Fleeting brilliance.
- Family
- Polemoniaceae
- Genus
- Ipomopsis
- Native to
- Western United States, Rocky Mountains, California
- Bloom season
- Summer
- Type
- biennial
- Height
- 1-3 ft
- Sunlight
- full sun
- Soil
- dry, sandy or rocky, well-drained
- Water
- low
- Hardiness
- 4-9
- Lifespan
- biennial
Did you know
- Scarlet gilia is one of the most important nectar sources for broad-tailed and rufous hummingbirds in the Rocky Mountains.
- Plants at high elevations with hummingbird pollinators have red flowers; those in lower areas with hawk-moths have white or pink flowers.
- It is biennial, spending its first year as a low rosette before blooming, setting seed, and dying in its second year.
- The plant can switch floral color mid-season when hummingbirds leave and hawk-moths become the dominant pollinator.
- Elk and deer browse the plant heavily, but it rebounds quickly from the base and still manages to flower and set seed.
Color meanings
0
brilliance
1
adaptability
2
hummingbird's delight