My favorite plant this week was purchased as
Leptospermum 'Copper Glow'. In researching the plant on line I found two species of
'Copper Glow'. One was
L. petersonii and the other was
L. polygalifolium. Although I liked the idea that we might share a name, my guess is that my plants are
L. polygalifolium.
L. petersonii is described as a lemon-scented shrub with foliage that's copper when new and green at maturity but I can't detect any lemony fragrance in the leaves of mine and the foliage is more bronze than green.
Whatever its species, it's a beautiful, graceful shrub. I planted 2 of these shrubs late last year, both in front garden.
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| Both shrubs are shown here, one in the foreground on the left and the other in the background on the far right |
Their form is more like that of
Agonis flexuosa 'Nana' than that of the traditional tea tree,
L. scoparium.
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| A closer look at the shrub on the north side of the front walkway |
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| and the shrub on the south side of the walkway |
According to the tag on the pot, my plants should grow 5-6 feet (1.5-1.8 meters) tall and 6-7 feet (1.8-2.1 meters) wide; however, on-line sources predict 2-3 meters (6.5-9.8 feet) tall and wide. The plants are responsive to pruning, though, and I'm hoping to keep mine within the bounds shown on the tag.
The plants are reportedly drought and frost tolerant. Predictions of frost tolerance varied widely. One source contended that they will tolerate minus 4C, while another said minus 10C (or 25F versus 14F). Still another source said the shrubs were suited to US zones 8b-11. As frost isn't an issue in my area of southern California, I can't make any personal assertions as to its winter hardiness.
The shrubs are supposed to flower in spring but mine produced no flowers this year, which is fine with me. I bought them for their foliage, which I fell in love with at first sight.
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| I've cut these stems several times to add to floral arrangements (most recently as shown here) |
The shrubs will handle full or partial sun. One of mine gets the former and the other the latter. The one that receives full sun appears slightly more robust but that may be due to having received more pruning. There are also slight color differences in foliage color.
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| The foliage of the plant receiving full sun, shown on the left, is a deeper copper red |
Loree of
danger garden presents a wrap-up of her favorite plants on the last Friday of the month - you can
see her June favorites here. Earlier this month I introduced 2 other favorites, plants that couldn't have been more different from one another, although the distinction wasn't intentional on my part. You can find my posts on these 2 plants
here and
here.
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| Trifolium repens is shown on the left and Magnolia grandiflora on the right |
All material
© 2012-2015 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
