Phacelia Species, Spotted Phacelia, Fernleaf Phacelia, Scorpion Weed

Beg, plead, and bargain to get yourself some seeds of this fantastic plant. It grows in shade: check; it can grow in dryish soil: check; ...Read Moreit can grow in sun: check; it germinates from direct seeding with abandon: check; pollinators (bees/bumblebees) go nuts over it: check; it's native to a big chunk of the eastern US: check; it forms a beautiful evergreen ground cover over winter: check; the plant when not in bloom is very attractive: check; the plant, when in bloom, is stunning: check; it blooms continuously for over a month: check.

The only downside to this plant is that, yes, it is a biennial, but that means it grows really easy from seed (a big plus). This is the perfect ideal of a native plant that is aggressive, but not invasive (easy to remove where you don't want it). Sure, mother nature will choose for you a bit where the plant grows, but it will grow readily where you just sprinkle some seed on some bare earth--can't get any more simple than that.

And, no, this species of Phacelia (Phacelia bipinnatifida) does NOT cause dermatitis.

Why is this plant so hard to find? Other than it being a biennial, I don't know. After all, it's pretty easy to find other biennials, such as evening primrose and hollyhocks, in seed, so why not this plant? And, I tell you what: this plant is easier to grow than either of those plants, and that's saying something. It also produces abundant seed. What might be an issue -- I think -- is that the seed's viability is probably pretty short, but other suppliers (e.g., Prairie Moon) have gotten over this with cold/humid storage. So it certainly seems doable.

I am not aware of any commercial growers of this seed, so you'll need to check with your native plant societies or (sometimes) e-bay or etsy sellers.

And yes, this is a call to any would-be commercial seed growers: what the &*^& are you waiting for???

Now, for those of you wondering how you get started with this seed, here's the recipe: 1) get some fresh, ripe seed in late June/early July (from spring flowers) and immediately sprinkle on the ground, where you want the plants to grow; 2) be patient; by fall your seeds will have germinated, grown some, and will remain over the winter as small plants; 3) the following spring, the plants will grow larger and flower. When these seeds ripen, take the seed pods and sprinkle the seeds where you want new plants to grow. Some seeds, however, will not germinate until the following year after you'd planted them, which means that you'll always have some plants in their (second) blooming year.

I love this plant. It's got delicate lavender flowers which bloom for about a month. It's not native to my area but does fine here. It i...Read Mores said to be a very good bee plant.

The comment that referred to it causing a very bad case of dermatitis was almost certainly referring to a different species of Phacelia, namely Phacelia crenulata, which can be found in the literature as a plant that contains a compund that can cause severe dermatitis. Here's an article about it from a couple of years back:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2087675/Thought-dese...

A pretty weed, but a weed nonetheless. I spent an entire day pulling scorpion weed from my Lake Havasu City, AZ front yard. The next da...Read Morey, my hands swelled up like balloons and every place weed touched skin, I was red and itchy. (Yeah, I was wearing shorts . ..it's HOT in Lake Havasu!)

Doctor said it was the worst case of contact dermatitis he'd ever seen.

Beware . . .

This easy-to-grow wildflower is pretty in bloom and out. It reseeds, and can move itself around a bit, but wayward seedlings can be mov...Read Moreed to a new location easily.

Since it is a biennial, maintain a patch to ensure blooms each spring.