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| Brazilian Plume has such an exotic, striking flower
that one would probably assume it is a tender tropical suited only as a houseplant. But it
is hardier than it looks and is a welcome source of some color in shady locations here in
the Central Valley of California.
The leaves are a rich dark green with hints of purple on the undersides. The plant is probably best described as a subshrub, since the stems are too soft to really be called woody, but its shape is more shrublike than anything else. The flowers are a crowded tuft of shiny bright pink tubes held upright at the end of every upright growing stem. Usually all the stems develop one of these terminal tufts at the same time, and the plant can be really spectacular for a couple of weeks each time there is a bloom cycle. If you cut the flower tufts off immediately after they bloom, another set will develop from lower buds. If you do not remove the tufts, eventually another flush of vegetative growth will break from the lower buds and a new set of terminal tufts will appear, but it will take much longer. Brazilian plume freezes back some to older stems when temperatures approach 20F, but it is almost evergreen in our milder winters. If the soil freezes, I think it would not survive. As insurance, it is best to mound some mulch around the base of the plant in the winter or give it some other minor protection. Catalog description by Gary Matson |
Brazilian Plume is available in 4-inch pot size for $7.95 each.
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