Posted on Sun, Jul. 20, 2008

Name: Plumbago, Cape leadwort

Botanical name:Plumbago auriculata (Plumbago capensis)

Description: We went to Boulders Beach south of Cape Town, South Africa, to see the penguins. Walking past the boulders we found two famous landscape plants of the region, Cape honeysuckle and Cape leadwort or plumbago, taking in the winter sun and salt air. The climate on the Western Cape is said to be Mediterranean, meaning cool and wet winters and dry, warm summers. Bringing the plumbago to a subtropical climate means its accustomed cycles are reversed, but it clearly doesn't mind. What it does want is drainage, and it will take dry conditions. It will not flower well or at all in shade. It is a robust grower, with terminal flowers, so you will be without flowers for a spell after you trim it. Or, use its vivaciousness to your advantage and tie it to an arbor or gate for a definite statement. I grow it with yellow shrimp plant, but you could pair it with mussaendas to disguise their legginess. The term leadwort may refer to the lead-blue color of the flowers, with wort meaning plant or herb. Or, says Kirsten Llamas in Tropical Flowering Plants, it may be derived from a folk remedy ``and it said to impart a leaden hue to the skin.''

Height: 3 to 4 feet and much wider

Light: full sun

Culture: The shrub is quick to show nutrient deficiencies, and quick to respond to fertilizer. It blooms during the warm and hot months, and grows constantly. Prune it back hard in the early spring and then shape throughout the rest of summer to keep it inbounds.