How to Grow Red Flowered Buckwheat

Red buckwheat is a small California native with big color. Also called red-flowered buckwheat, rosy buckwheat, and San Miguel Island buckwheat, Eriogonum grande var. rubescens grows as a sub-shrub up to about 1 foot tall, a low mound of foliage topped with pom-pom clusters of rosy pink to red flowers from early summer into fall. The flower stems can reach about 2 feet. Butterflies love it, it is drought tolerant once established, and it is one of the showiest of the small buckwheats and one of our favorites for small spaces.

The short answer on how to grow red buckwheat: plant it in fall in full sun near the coast or afternoon shade inland, in well-drained soil, water it through the first summer, then let it go nearly dry. This guide is for California gardeners who want a compact, low water plant for rock gardens, borders, slopes, and pots. It covers planting, care by season, wildlife, where it grows wild, and how it compares to other California buckwheats. Get it right once and it will color your garden every summer and fall with almost no work.