trefle.io · Taken Apr 27, 2022 by beurny (cc-by-sa)
Fabaceae
Bird's-foot
Ornithopus perpusillus
Also known as Ornithopus, Egglegg plant, Bird's-foot trefoil, Ornithopodium missus
Native Plants · Wildflower · Legume · Nitrogen Fixer · Sandy Soil · Meadow · Low Maintenance · Fabaceae · Annual · European Native · Pollinator
Bird's-foot is a small, delicate annual wildflower that thrives in poor, sandy, or gravelly soils with full sun to partial shade. It is an excellent choice for naturalistic plantings, wildflower meadows, or as a nitrogen-fixer in a mixed border thanks to its legume family roots. Minimal care is needed — simply sow in a suitable open site and allow it to self-seed naturally.
Growing conditions
The details behind the basics
- Daily light
- 6 hours
- Watering
- Water lightly; this plant tolerates dry, sandy soils and rarely needs supplemental watering once established · Every 10-14 days
- Maintenance
- Low
- Soil
- sandy loam
- Soil pH
- 4.5–5
- Temperature
- -25°F to 90°F
- Cycle
- Perennial
- Propagation
- Seed
Hardiness
USDA 4b-9b
Form & growth
Mature size and habit
- Mature height
- 6 in – 3 ft
- Spread
- 18 in
- Spacing
- 4 in apart
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Root depth
- Medium
- Flowers
- No
- Foliage
- Fine
Ecology & origin
Where it belongs and what it brings
- Native to
- Algeria, Austria, Azores, Baltic States, Belarus, Belgium, British Columbia, Canary Is., Central European Rus, Corse, Costa Rica, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, India, Ireland, Italy, Madeira
- Attracts
- Bees, Butterflies
Sources: trefle, usda
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