The plant doesn’t do well in a manicured formal garden and has the best chance of success in a prairie or wildflower meadow with other native plants. Growing Indian paintbrush is tricky, but it isn’t impossible. Indian paintbrush tolerates cold winters, but it doesn’t perform well in the warmer climates of USDA zones 8 and above.
This is because Indian paintbrush sends roots out to the other plants, then penetrates the roots and “borrows” nutrients it needs in order to survive. This unpredictable wildflower grows when it is planted in close proximity with other plants, primarily grasses or native plants such as penstemon or blue-eyed grass.
However, if conditions are right, Indian paintbrush reseeds itself every autumn. The plant is short-lived and dies after it sets seed. Indian paintbrush is a biennial plant that usually develops rosettes the first year and stalks of blooms in spring or early summer of the second year. About the Indian PaintbrushĪlso known as Castilleja, Indian paintbrush wildflowers grow in forest clearings and grasslands across the western and southwestern United States. Growing this wildflower can add interest to the native garden. Indian paintbrush flowers are named for the clusters of spiky blooms that resemble paintbrushes dipped in bright red or orange-yellow paint.