Our young Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia) had its first bloom this year. What’s so great about Toyon?
- Native bees and honeybees love it.
- UC Santa Cruz researchers found that Toyon is one of the best plants for attracting beneficial insects.
- Native Americans dried the red berries for use as food.
- It doesn’t need much water.
- It will grow as far north as Southern England.
Get one for your food forest!
Do the flowers have a scent? How tall will it get? Is it a volunteer or did you plant it?
DW–No scent–if memory serves me correctly they can get as high as 10 feet. This was not a volunteer–we planted it a couple of years ago.
I find that I am in the minority on this plant/shrub/tree. Over the last decade they appeared out of nowhere, and have been profusely volunteering ever since. This has impacted all plantings because the toyon hordes water and overtakes all existing trees, shrubs and plants. I live up against green belt open space and I’ve never seen a coyote eat the berries from a toyon. Surely there are better options than this to attracting bees and butterflies. I’m not sure what you mean by “good insects,” but the toyon is also a carrier of the sudden Oak death pathogen.