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Close-up of Coyote Bush flower (Baccharis pilularis). Another stunning Pacific Northwest native shrub available at Sparrowhawk Native Plants Nursery in Portland, Oregon.
Honeybees drink nectar from Coyote Bush flowers (Baccharis pilularis). Another stunning Pacific Northwest native shrub available at Sparrowhawk Native Plants Nursery in Portland, Oregon.
Coyote Bush shrub (Baccharis pilularis). Another stunning Pacific Northwest native shrub available at Sparrowhawk Native Plants Nursery in Portland, Oregon.

Coyote Bush

Baccharis pilularis

Coyote Bush, also known as Chaparral broom, is a drought-tolerant, evergreen shrub that is highly attractive to many native insects and birds, while providing essential landscape function as a screen, hedge or erosion control. It has a robust, upright form with bright green leaves that have a faint but pleasant aroma on warm sunny days. Small white flowers appear in late summer and continue blooming and providing critical floral resources well into fall, after nearly everything else is done flowering. 

  • Plant type/canopy layer: evergreen, perennial, large shrub
  • Size at maturity: 1-15' tall, 2'-9' wide
  • Light requirements: full sun to part sun
  • Moisture requirements: dry, well-drained soil
  • Bloom time: August - November
  • Growth rate/ease: moderate growth rate, easy to grow
  • Wildlife support: flowers are a late season nectar source for adult butterflies, bees and other insect pollinators; overall plant provides foraging and refugia habitat for birds and other small animals, attracts beneficial and pest eating insects, and is a caterpillar host plant and larval food source for native moths and butterflies
  • Native habitat/range: native to and common throughout coastal Oregon and the central Cascades. Portland Plant List - no. 
  • Special features & uses: pollinator powerhouse, evergreen; landscape uses include erosion control on sunny slopes and habitat hedge rows  

Gardening with Coyote Bush: In the garden, Coyote Bush is perfect for sunny slopes, rocky  driveways, rock gardens and pollinator gardens. It is tolerant of drought and heat, largely deer resistant and can be used as a full sun hedge, or in areas that are prone to erosion. Although it prefers well-drained soil, it can grow in most soil conditions from moist and clay-rich to dry and rocky. It should be pruned back periodically simulating fires/grazing that would occur naturally in the wild. It also functions as cover for other native perennials to establish themselves. 

Photo Credit 1: "Coyote Bush (Baccharis pilularis)" by jkirkhart35 is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Photo Credit 2: "Baccharis pilularis-Coyote Brush, Honeybees" by campsjc is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

Photo Credit 3: "Baccharis pilularis" by Matt Lavin is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

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