{"product_id":"ceratoides-lanata-winterfat-amaranthaceae","title":"Winterfat","description":"\u003ch1\u003eWinterfat\u003c\/h1\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;\"\u003eKrascheninnikovia lanata (Ceratoides lanata)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;\"\u003eAmaranthaceae\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul style=\"margin-top: 0in;\" type=\"disc\"\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;\"\u003eSpokane Native\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;\"\u003eSun\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;\"\u003eSize: 1'-3' tall x 1'-2' wide\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;\"\u003eDrought Tolerant: Very high\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;\"\u003eFlower Color: White silky seed spikes (August - October)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;\"\u003eWildlife Value: Excellent winter browse for livestock and wildlife; nesting material; sage grouse habitat\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;\"\u003eWinterfat is a low silvery subshrub. Grows in wide variety of habitats including open plains, drainage bottoms, foothills, rolling plains, rocky mesas, scrubby flats, grassland plains, and xeric scrublands. It grows in full sun on dry, well-drained soils and is notably tolerant of alkaline and saline ground; it does not want wet, heavy, clay, or acidic soils. Deeply drought tolerant and very cold hardy, it is a tough, long-lived plant for lean, sunny sites, though it establishes at a measured pace.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;\"\u003eWinterfat forms a rounded, low shrub generally 1 to 3 feet tall and wide, with a woody base, gray-brown exfoliating bark, and narrow, fuzzy, pale gray-green to blue-green foliage densely covered in star-shaped hairs. Its signature feature arrives in late summer and fall, when the female plants clothe themselves in dense, silky, silvery-white woolly seed spikes that catch and glow in low autumn and winter light, an outstanding cool-season ornamental effect that gives the plant its name. The soft silvery foliage and luminous seed heads make it a distinctive textural and light-catching accent in the dry garden.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;\"\u003eDioecious with male and female flowers on separate plants. Flowers inconspicuous without petals, clustered in dense terminal spikes, blooming May-July (sometimes September-November depending on conditions). Plumes of fluffy white seeds reminiscent of cotton candy sticks give way in fall, creating striking feathery seedheads that shimmer when backlit. Must have male plant nearby for females to produce flowers. Superior winter browse for livestock and wildlife—one of most valuable rangeland browse plants. Good forage for pronghorn, elk, mule deer, small mammals, birds, sage grouse. Seeds provide food for birds and small mammals. Important sage grouse habitat species. Leaves eaten by moth caterpillars. Toxic foliage avoided by some browsers when alternatives available.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;\"\u003eUse winterfat as a soft, silvery accent or massed groundcover-scale shrub in sagebrush-steppe, xeric, and silver-themed plantings, on dry slopes, and in reclaimed or alkaline soils where its salt tolerance is an asset. Its luminous fall-and-winter seed heads are best sited where low sun can backlight them. Because the showy silvery seed display appears on female plants, plant several, or select female stock, to guarantee the effect. It combines naturally with big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata), rabbitbrush (Ericameria nauseosa), fourwing saltbush (Atriplex canescens), and native bunchgrasses. Keep it out of wet, heavy, or irrigated ground.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Tanager, LLC","offers":[{"title":"10 cu in","offer_id":50007205150953,"sku":null,"price":5.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0774\/5440\/9961\/files\/Screenshot2026-09-24135755.png?v=1790283499","url":"https:\/\/www.tanagergreenhouse.com\/products\/ceratoides-lanata-winterfat-amaranthaceae","provider":"Tanager, LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}