Tropical Blue Plumbago
If you love blue flowers and butterflies, then Blue Plumbago is for you!
This big boy has good vigor, high color impact and great humidity tolerance. This makes the challenge to find the right spot for his lax stems, worth the effort- especially when they are loaded with flowers!
His best use maybe isn’t in the typical hanging baskets, though that is frequently the way you can purchase him (though it does make my heart skip a beat when I look up at the flowers and the sky and, well I feel like I can touch heaven!)
He is able to stand our heat, but not so much so when the water is limited to just what a basket can hold. He does ask for a commitment-he requires daily watering! (forgetting this means more than hurting his feelings- he stops bringing you flowers opps -I hear a song “you don’t bring me flowers-anymore- sad moment remembered, favorite POP person of the past, funny phone messages- bring a smile )
Perhaps I did best when I accepted that he (meaning this tropical lover) is who he is- a seasonal plant, just here for the summer. I try to make this one of my BMP-PP (Best Management Practices for Plants and People) It takes practice to accept someone for who they are, but it ends up better for everyone.
In the plant world that means really knowing and caring where a plant came from, what he likes, what he needs. Once I accepted him and let him “do his thing” in the ground- I enjoyed him even more and without much regret! (I always wanted to keep everything- but unfortunately- no greenhouse! I use to dream about having a rental greenhouse house where people brought their “keepers” for the winter, I would care for them, love them all winter long and give them back each spring. Later I decided most tropicals don’t love back so much in the winter and they get sick and then what if no one came back to get them and they were abandoned- oh no!)
Back to Plumbago (or Blue Boy as I affectionately call him)
After returning from visiting my landscape architect relative in Hawaii, (yes talent runs in the family- but he is on my husband’s side) This is where I really fell in love- he (Blue Boy) was this most handsome informal hedge border that wrapped around my cousins’ personal garden-He was breathtaking!)
When I returned home I planted my Blue Plumbago in the ground and ever after made purchasing and planting Plumbago as an annual tradition and memory plant of that wonderful trip.
If you love blue flowers and butterflies, then Blue Plumbago is for you!
This big boy has good vigor, high color impact and great humidity tolerance. This makes the challenge to find the right spot for his lax stems, worth the effort- especially when they are loaded with flowers!
His best use maybe isn’t in the typical hanging baskets, though that is frequently the way you can purchase him (though it does make my heart skip a beat when I look up at the flowers and the sky and, well I feel like I can touch heaven!)
He is able to stand our heat, but not so much so when the water is limited to just what a basket can hold. He does ask for a commitment-he requires daily watering! (forgetting this means more than hurting his feelings- he stops bringing you flowers opps -I hear a song “you don’t bring me flowers-anymore- sad moment remembered, favorite POP person of the past, funny phone messages- bring a smile )
Perhaps I did best when I accepted that he (meaning this tropical lover) is who he is- a seasonal plant, just here for the summer. I try to make this one of my BMP-PP (Best Management Practices for Plants and People) It takes practice to accept someone for who they are, but it ends up better for everyone.
In the plant world that means really knowing and caring where a plant came from, what he likes, what he needs. Once I accepted him and let him “do his thing” in the ground- I enjoyed him even more and without much regret! (I always wanted to keep everything- but unfortunately- no greenhouse! I use to dream about having a rental greenhouse house where people brought their “keepers” for the winter, I would care for them, love them all winter long and give them back each spring. Later I decided most tropicals don’t love back so much in the winter and they get sick and then what if no one came back to get them and they were abandoned- oh no!)
Back to Plumbago (or Blue Boy as I affectionately call him)
After returning from visiting my landscape architect relative in Hawaii, (yes talent runs in the family- but he is on my husband’s side) This is where I really fell in love- he (Blue Boy) was this most handsome informal hedge border that wrapped around my cousins’ personal garden-He was breathtaking!)
When I returned home I planted my Blue Plumbago in the ground and ever after made purchasing and planting Plumbago as an annual tradition and memory plant of that wonderful trip.
I also have to admit, I don’t think I had any idea of what a grand butterfly magnet this “blue phlox “was either, but I learned! Thank heavens (see he makes you think like that-with all that blue) I placed him where I could sit near him and enjoy his many “attractive “qualities! I had so many butterflies that year!
To keep this tropical beauty “attractive” (in flower) plan for “special time” / regular grooming. Each pruning session seems to stimulate another growth flush and more flowers- as long as there is adequate moisture and nutrients in the soil. (He confirmed another of my BMP-PP beliefs, choose to spend quality time, you usually will get something more in return- in this case flowers!)
He is native to South Africa, in places where the soil is slightly acidic, so if he does struggle with yellowish foliage, there maybe a need manganese. Wait and see if this becomes a problem before adding anything to the soil as you may be fortunate not to need it. You can throw your soil “off balance”, even with a “balanced” fertilizer if you add fertilizers willy –nilly!
To keep this tropical beauty “attractive” (in flower) plan for “special time” / regular grooming. Each pruning session seems to stimulate another growth flush and more flowers- as long as there is adequate moisture and nutrients in the soil. (He confirmed another of my BMP-PP beliefs, choose to spend quality time, you usually will get something more in return- in this case flowers!)
He is native to South Africa, in places where the soil is slightly acidic, so if he does struggle with yellowish foliage, there maybe a need manganese. Wait and see if this becomes a problem before adding anything to the soil as you may be fortunate not to need it. You can throw your soil “off balance”, even with a “balanced” fertilizer if you add fertilizers willy –nilly!
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