Blooming in January

Dendromecon harfordii and Flower Carpet™ Rose!

With so little in bloom this time of year, it’s refreshing to see something with color!  This Island bush poppy was put in about 2 years ago as a 1 gallon plant and has grown to be about 3-4′ tall by now.  This group planting is out by road and receives less water than other plants around this place.  We probably have watered it deeply every week or 10 days to get it established.  It should take less as it grows bigger, especially during the summer months.

Dendromecon harfordii can grow to 6-10′ tall and wide.  The blue-green foliage consists of oval leaves and very clear, yellow cupped flowers.  This plant is generally full of blooms during the spring and intermittently during the year.   They do very well in warm, sunny spaces and can shine alone as a specimen shrub or happily blend in with other drought tolerant plants.  Being a California native plant from the Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa Islands, it can be intermixed in groups of other native plants and is a wonderful background plant.

I am rather fond of my Flower Carpet™ Rose, shown here in Red, blooming cheerfully down by the road.  This particular plant has been in for about 1 year now and has been very tolerant of it’s relaxed watering schedule.  They are supposed to bloom into the late fall, but here it is January and it is ignoring the rules.  Maybe it’s our crazy weather!

They are simple to grow, disease resistant and require very little care.  They are not particularly fragrant.  The flowers grow to about 2″ across, with the plant growing to 24-32″ tall and up to 40″ across.  I just love them.