Plant of the Month November 2024
GENERAL INFORMATION: November brings many seed lists for us to peruse and to select desirable offerings. I was intrigued by the description of Ipomopsis rubra many years ago. Would it be hardly? A Texan plant? It has self-seeded nearly every year, only deterred by shade and a wet March. The fist-sized rosettes are attractive additions to the rock garden during the first year. Tall flowering spikes attract many pollinators, especially hummingbirds.
Synonym: Gilia rubra.
Common Name: Standing cypress, scarlet gilia, Texas plume and flame flower.
Variants: Yellow flowered form.
Life Cycle: Herbaceous biennial. May last to another season in the south if dead-headed.
Height: To 150 cm high, 30 cm wide, in 2nd year.
Ipomopsis rubra in Rock Garden.
Leaves: Mid-green compound pinnate leaves up to 2.5 cm long, with very narrow leaflets. Forms a ferny fist-sized rosette the first year. The 2nd year flowering stalk is leafy.
Ipomopsis rubra -Seedlings showing leaf structure.
Bloom Time: July - September.
Flower Colour & Size: A thick spike of many scarlet tubular flowers, 2 cm long, opening to a 5-petaled star. The centre is whitish, dotted with red.
Fruit: 2- partitioned capsule containing black seeds.
Ipomopsis rubra - flowers
Ipomopsis rubra - capsules.
Range: Native to SE USA.
Habitat: Dry, sandy or rocky fields or open woodland.
CULTIVATION:
Plant: Scatter seeds in situ in fall or start indoors. Their height requires careful siting.
Light: Full sun, will not grow as well in light shade.
Soil: Most soils.
Water: Dry to medium moisture. Must be well drained.
USDA Hardiness: Zones 5-9.
Companion planting: Other rock garden plants.
Propagation: Self seeds in garden. Indoors from seed: Sow @ 20°C. Seed germinates within 3 months. Dislikes transplanting.
Ipomopsis rubra - seedlings.
Pest and Diseases: Nothing serious.
Pollinators: Hummingbirds.
References:
https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/ipomopsis-rubra/
https://www.gardenia.net/plant/ipomopsis-rubra
https://onrockgarden.com/index.php/germination-guide/germination-guide
Text and images supplied by Anna Leggatt (Toronto Master Gardener)