Essential Perennials by Ruth Rogers Clausen

Author:Ruth Rogers Clausen
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Timber Press
Published: 2014-03-14T16:00:00+00:00

Hepatica nobilis ‘Rosea’

Hesperaloe

Asparagaceae

hesperaloe

These southwestern natives are similar in appearance to their relatives the yuccas, and are sometimes incorrectly labeled as such. Hesperaloes provide gardeners of their region with desert-adapted, fountain-like clusters of evergreen, stemless, linear, blade-like foliage and bell-shaped flowers borne on tall, graceful spikes. A magnet for hummingbirds and deer resistant, these plants are tough, requiring little irrigation or maintenance. Attractive when massed, their neat, architectural forms make them useful as accents in dry gardens, too. Well-drained soil is essential.

Propagate by seed or by division in wintertime; growth is somewhat slow but hesperaloes are exceptionally durable.

Hesperaloe campanulata

• pink

• summer

• 3 ft. high and wide

• sun

• Z7–10

Bell-flower hesperaloe. Northeastern Mexico. More compact than the popular giant hesperaloe, but otherwise similar in appearance. Stiff, 0.5-in.-wide, lime-green leaves borne in a dense clump; pink, bell-shaped flowers borne on tall stalks in summertime.

Hesperaloe funifera

• white

• midspring to early fall

• 4 ft. high and wide

• sun

• Z6–10

Giant hesperaloe. Chihuahuan Desert, Texas, northeast New Mexico. A wonderful accent for arid-region gardens, this species forms an imposing clump of stiff, broad, lime-green leaves edged with coarse, white fibers. The inflorescence, which can last seven months, is an eye-opening 8- to 12-ft.-tall, branching stalk of creamy-white flowers infused with a pink and green blush. Virtually impervious to heat and drought.

Hesperaloe nocturna

• green-and-lavender

• spring to summer

• 5 ft. × 6 ft.

• part shade, shade

• Z7–10

Night-blooming hesperaloe. Mountains of northwestern Mexico. Forms a dense, 4-ft. rosette of narrow, grass-like leaves that are deeply grooved and have fine white threads along the margins. The inflorescence is striking, a 12-ft. stalk of small, greenish lavender, night-blooming flowers. Water deeply every second week during summer heat.

Hesperaloe parviflora

• red

• early spring to late summer

• 5 ft. × 3 ft.

• sun

• Z5–10

Red yucca. Northeastern Mexico and south Texas. Very popular as a landscape plant in the desert states, and also found in the gardens of coastal Florida. Evergreen, arching, grass-like leaves, borne in neat, dense rosettes, are long, narrow, and longitudinally rolled with curly threads clinging from the margins. Red to pink, bell-shaped flowers are 1.25 in. long, borne on 8-ft.-tall stalks. Exceptionally drought tolerant.

‘Perpa’, marketed as Brakelights, is compact, forming a clump of blue-green foliage 2–3 ft. wide and tall with 3-ft. stalks of bright red flowers. Seems to be sterile—failure to set seed prolongs its blooming season.

‘Yellow’ bears soft yellow flowers. 4 ft. × 3 ft.

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