‘Landscape Lilac’ is a tough ‘Gardening With Angus’ kangaroo paw with subtle pale purple flowers- now there’s a kangaroo paw colour you don’t see every day!
-
Kangaroo paw 'Landscape Lilac'
-
Kangaroo paw 'Landscape Lilac'
This fantastic mid-sized Kangaroo paw will grow with ease and perform well for many years, bearing masses of beautiful lilac coloured flowers from spring through summer. ‘Landscape Lilac’ has been selected for the great flower colour and for the way it develops multiple shoots quickly.
Designed for landscape use and permanent plantings, as well as for great performance in containers, ‘Landscape Lilac’ also has excellent cut flower potential, making this a truly versatile kangaroo paw.
Description:
This is a medium-sized kangaroo paw designed to grow in a wider variety of soil types and conditions, and unlike many of the other smaller paws this plant is both long-lived and low maintenance.
-
Kangaroo paw 'Landscape Lilac'
It has dark green strappy leaves which are narrower than other tall growing paws. The plant grows to 1m wide and masses of lilac flowers on green stems. Flowers prolifically in spring and summer atop a well branched flower stem between 1 to 2 metres high. Extra flowers can appear at the lower stem junctions, giving a second blooming period.
Features:
•Attracts Wildlife
Kangaroo paws and this variety in particular are excellent for attracting birds. The abundant nectar provides a feast for many different native birds including honeyeaters, wattle-birds and spinebills. The lovely lilac flowers also attract butterflies and bees.
•Perfect Landscape Plant
Bred for ease of care, longevity and beauty ‘Landscape Lilac’ represents all the best qualities of Australian native plants.
•Great Cut Flower – Spectacular Native Colour
The iconic Kangaroo paw has long been a very popular native cut flower and ‘Landscape Lilac’ brings a really different colour tone to the range of kangaroo paws available.
Uses:
Landscape and Garden
A tough, low maintenance kangaroo paw that will perform reliably for many years. ‘Landscape Lilac’ is also great for permanent home garden plantings and large pots or containers.
•The lush evergreen foliage and stunning flowers make it a spectacular feature plant, it is also fantastic for mass plantings where the floral display will really make an impact.
•Makes a great backdrop planting or mixed planting with other varieties of kangaroo paw and popular native grasses to add colour and depth to Native garden designs.
Cut Flower Production:
The hardiness and long flowering period which make ‘Landscape Lilac’ a great plant for landscapers and gardeners, also make this an ideal plant for cut flower growers. The unusual colour for a kangaroo paw makes it a real winner.
•Their long stems, well branched stems and tough flowers mean they are a beautiful and long-lived cut flower, and have made them a favourite with florists.
•The year round flowering of this variety is a real bonus for growers with the potential for successional crops from the same plants in one year, and ‘Landscape Lilac’ is suitable for greenhouse cultivation and large scale commercial production.
Requirements:
•Full sun to partial shade, the flower colour can vary with different light levels
•Drought tolerant – Whilst this variety will survive a prolonged dry spell it should be added that it may not flower well if it dries out while the flower stems are forming.
•Frost tolerant to light frosts. If there is leaf damage from heavy frost, wait until all frost are over and cut back the plant hard to the ground, and it will reshoot from the underground rhizhome
•Soil – Good drainage is necessary. Add a small amount of organic matter to the soil when planting and mulch well afterwards to encourage strong healthy growth.
•Low maintenance
Maintenance:
•Pruning is important to keep Kangaroo paws healthy and attractive year round, particularly with the long flowering mid-sized varieties including ‘Landscape Lilac’.
All old foliage and flowers should be cut right back to ground level. This can be done with secateurs or even a lawnmower for large plants!
Hint from Angus- Cutting back to ground level may seem extreme but it actually encourages the growth of healthy new shoots which will bear the next year’s flowers. After all, in the wild Kangaroo paws can survive and flourish through extreme conditions like bushfires and hungry kangaroos and wallabies!
•For best results prune 2-3 times per year during their growing season in Spring and Summer by removing old flower heads as they finish. You should also remove the attached leaves as each fan of leaves supports just one flower stem and will begin to die back after the flowers have completely finished. This will encourage more flowers and keep the plant looking healthy and attractive.
•Water the plant well throughout the growing season to encourage extended flowering, particularly as the flower buds are forming. Though they are drought tolerant they respond best if watered well during their growing season beginning in early Spring. This will help to increase the longevity of the blooms. Water more frequently when establishing and apply a good layer of mulch after planting.
•Fertilize after pruning back with a generous handful of either a general purpose or Native fertilizer. ‘Landscape Lilac’ is not overly sensitive to Phosphorus. Feed again in Spring during their growing season for spectacular displays of flowers that year.
•Older plants will respond well to being lifted and divided every one to three years, this will reinvigorate the plant.
Hint from Angus-
If using for cut flowers try taking off just the top half of the flower stem (cut just above the lower flower buds on the stem as soon as the first flower has opened) and using this indoors as a cut flower.
This encourages the dormant lower flower buds on the bottom half of the flower stem to grow, which will extend the flowering period and give you more flowers from each stem!
Read more about growing kangaroo paws
Watch Angus’s videos – Kangaroo Paw Cut Flower Tip and Bush Gems Landscaper Paws