Trax
Active Member
Mom's Blue Hydrangea and Holly bush died after we had a record breaking hot July this year. RonsGarden helped me with a great idea called Desert Sweet Fernbush. We decided to get that since it looks awesome and it's perfect for our climate, and a Blue Plumbago bush. The Plumbago isn't perfect but it looks great too and can grow in a pot and be brought indoors for the winter.
Anyway, I did a ton of reading and wanted to share what I learned about heat loving bushes. I'll add more bushes when I learn more and if anyone else knows some heat loving bushes, please share!
Desert Sweet Fernbush
Chamaebatiaria Millefolium. Aka Desert Sweet, Tansy Bush. This is a member of the Rose family (Rosaceae). It's widely distributed in the U.K.. 3-6 feet tall and wide. 2-3 inch long triangular fern leaves. White flowers with yellow centers. The flowers are 1/2 inch across, rose-like, have 5 petals, and branch out on the tips of stems. The bush should be grown in full-sun to part shade and in a well-draining soil. It's fully cold-hardy and drought-hardy, doesn't need much water after it's established, but will grow better with monthly summer waterings. It grows fast and can flower it's first year. It's long-lived and has very few probs.
The seeds don't live more than 2 years in storage and need sunlight to germinate. To plant seeds, press them into the soil but don't put dirt over them. The seeds are tiny and silverlike and are not dormant when harvested. The seeds germinate in about a week and make tiny seedlings that will grow into small bushes in 2-3 months.
This bush grows in very harsh climates, including the Cinder barrens at Crater Of The Moon national monument. It's not a true evergreen but it will leaf earlier than other ornamentals in the spring. It flowers in high summer and is a tidy plant.
The flowers have a light perfume and are showy. The foliage has a great resinous scent. The leaves turn a clear-yellow color in the fall.
Collecting seeds: The seeds are tiny, papery, and reddish & are tuff to find in the dried up fruits. The fruits will be ripe in September and the dried parts should be shaken into a bag.
Blue Plumbago
This bush looks very much like a Blue Hydrangea bush. The 2 varieties are Sky Blue & Cobalt Blue.
This shrub is native to South Africa. Grow in zones 8b-11 if it's not container-grown. It has been grown in 106*F heat with zero probs. It grows 3-10 feet tall and wide and has 1" wide 5-petal tube flowers that grow in round clusters. The flowers are always on new growth, are not eaten by deer, and attract butterflies. The bush can be pruned to any shape or left alone. You'll get a ton more flowers in the summer if you prune it in late-winter or early-spring. Bushes can be grown from seeds or cuttings. It can also be grown in containers and it will flower.
This shrub loves heat, can tolerate a light frost, but will be killed by a heavy frost. It grows good in California and Florida. It should be shielded from heavy rains since it loves dry weather. The soil should be warm, sandy, well-draining, and acidic. It's a heavy feeder so use fertilizer. If the leaves start to turn yellow, add Manganese. It should be grown in full sun since the more light it gets, the more flowers it will make. The stems are woody and they make a mound-type trunk.
The flowers attract butterflies, even swallowtails, and have been used to cure headaches, warts, wounds, and to help broken bones. Those remedies have never been proven but they have been used.
There is a white flower variety of this shrub but it doesn't flower as much and the bush isn't as hardy.
Anyway, I did a ton of reading and wanted to share what I learned about heat loving bushes. I'll add more bushes when I learn more and if anyone else knows some heat loving bushes, please share!
Desert Sweet Fernbush
Chamaebatiaria Millefolium. Aka Desert Sweet, Tansy Bush. This is a member of the Rose family (Rosaceae). It's widely distributed in the U.K.. 3-6 feet tall and wide. 2-3 inch long triangular fern leaves. White flowers with yellow centers. The flowers are 1/2 inch across, rose-like, have 5 petals, and branch out on the tips of stems. The bush should be grown in full-sun to part shade and in a well-draining soil. It's fully cold-hardy and drought-hardy, doesn't need much water after it's established, but will grow better with monthly summer waterings. It grows fast and can flower it's first year. It's long-lived and has very few probs.
The seeds don't live more than 2 years in storage and need sunlight to germinate. To plant seeds, press them into the soil but don't put dirt over them. The seeds are tiny and silverlike and are not dormant when harvested. The seeds germinate in about a week and make tiny seedlings that will grow into small bushes in 2-3 months.
This bush grows in very harsh climates, including the Cinder barrens at Crater Of The Moon national monument. It's not a true evergreen but it will leaf earlier than other ornamentals in the spring. It flowers in high summer and is a tidy plant.
The flowers have a light perfume and are showy. The foliage has a great resinous scent. The leaves turn a clear-yellow color in the fall.
Collecting seeds: The seeds are tiny, papery, and reddish & are tuff to find in the dried up fruits. The fruits will be ripe in September and the dried parts should be shaken into a bag.
Blue Plumbago
This bush looks very much like a Blue Hydrangea bush. The 2 varieties are Sky Blue & Cobalt Blue.
This shrub is native to South Africa. Grow in zones 8b-11 if it's not container-grown. It has been grown in 106*F heat with zero probs. It grows 3-10 feet tall and wide and has 1" wide 5-petal tube flowers that grow in round clusters. The flowers are always on new growth, are not eaten by deer, and attract butterflies. The bush can be pruned to any shape or left alone. You'll get a ton more flowers in the summer if you prune it in late-winter or early-spring. Bushes can be grown from seeds or cuttings. It can also be grown in containers and it will flower.
This shrub loves heat, can tolerate a light frost, but will be killed by a heavy frost. It grows good in California and Florida. It should be shielded from heavy rains since it loves dry weather. The soil should be warm, sandy, well-draining, and acidic. It's a heavy feeder so use fertilizer. If the leaves start to turn yellow, add Manganese. It should be grown in full sun since the more light it gets, the more flowers it will make. The stems are woody and they make a mound-type trunk.
The flowers attract butterflies, even swallowtails, and have been used to cure headaches, warts, wounds, and to help broken bones. Those remedies have never been proven but they have been used.
There is a white flower variety of this shrub but it doesn't flower as much and the bush isn't as hardy.
