Gardening 101: Featherhead
Featherhead, Phylica pubescens
Do you have a special plant on your wish list this year? Naturally, I have never grown it myself, so I have no experience with its pros and cons.
Please keep reading to learn more about this alluring plant:
Featherbrush growing on the grounds of University of California at Davis.
Photograph by Kier Holmes.
Native to South Africa, this evergreen shrub naturally grows on dry sandstone and limestone slopes in Cape Town, so this should be your first clue as to how to make the plant happy and thrive. Then you should try match its native conditions as close as possible.
So, back to Phylica p., this plant demands good air circulation and excellent drainage.
Phylica pubescens chose the latter strategy so much so that its seeds don t just need smoke treatment to germinate but actually want to experience some...
...kind of heat treatment for best results In short this plant invests significant energy into seed production and heavily relies on wildfires to replenish its populations
Photograph by UncleBucko via Flickr.
That said, “in cultivation, mineral based soils with excellent structure and drainage are very helpful for maintaining healthy plants, and most gardeners in coastal climates can expect good results for an average of five years or so by adding copious pumice or lava rock to their native clay soils,” he adds.
So, if you can achieve the correct conditions then you will be rewarded with a shrub growing to 4 by 4 feet and that not only looks unique but feels soft, fuzzy and, of course, feathery like the common name. After the flowers fade, tiny fruits and then seeds appear.
To really make this shrub shine, situate your plant so it will be backlit by early morning or end of day rays. When the light shines through the feathery hairs, you will witness a glowing halo effect.
Photograph by Jeff Wright via Flickr.