Plumbago auriculata

Plant Characteristics

Lifespan:	⌛	[[Lifespan::Tender Perennial]]

Cultivation

Exposure:	☼	Sun"Sun" is not in the list (sun, part-sun, shade, unknown) of allowed values for the "Exposure" property., Indoors"Indoors" is not in the list (sun, part-sun, shade, unknown) of allowed values for the "Exposure" property.
Water:	◍	regular"regular" is not in the list (wet, moist, moderate, dry, less when dormant) of allowed values for the "Water" property.
Features:	✓	Flowers
Sunset Zones:		8, 9, 12-28

Scientific Names

Plumbago auriculata, also called Plumbago capensis, Blue plumbago, Cape blumbago or Cape leadwort, is a well known plant.

Plumbago auriculata grows fast and to 2 meters (6 feet) tall. It has light blue to blue flowers and also variations with white (Plumbago auriculata var. alba) or deep blue (Plumbago auriculata 'Royal cape') flowers. The leaves are green and grow 4-8 cm (1.5-3 in) long. Native to South Africa.

It grows well in a container outdoors and can be watered freely in the summer. To get the flowers to appear, the plumbago requires a warm place in full sun or partial shade.

Plumbago auriculata

Plumbago auriculata

Read about Plumbago auriculata in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

syn. Plumbago capensis, Thunb. Fig. 3080. Semi-climbing shrub but a straggling upright plant as grown under glass, somewhat glaucous, glabrous except in the infl. :lvs. scattered, oblong-ovate to oblong-spatulate, nearly or quite obtuse and short - mucronate, narrowed into a very short petiole: racemes relatively short, the fls. sometimes appearing as if umbelled; fls. azure-blue, with a very slender tube 1 1/2 in. long and several times longer than the glandular-hairy cylindrical calyx-tube, the corolla-lobes obovate and phlox-like: caps, oblong- clavate, tapering and angled below. S. Afr. B.M. 2110. B.R. 417. Gn. 44, p. 380; 46, p. 245; 48, p. 344; 58, p. 20. G. 18:519; 27:41. Gn.W. 24:121. G.W. 10, p. 331. R.H. 1908:60. Var. alba, Hort., has white fis.—A well-known greenhouse plant. Old plants turned into the soil in late spring in a sunny exposure bloom profusely until frost. Plants struck from fall cuttings also give good bloom the following summer, but younger plants usually do not bloom so well. Plants can be kept in a cellar during winter, or they may be grown under glass for spring and summer bloom. It is an excellent rafter plant. In S. Calif, it climbs trees 15-20 ft. high if undisturbed. P. capensis and the white-fid, varieties are the commonest kinds. The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

References

• Flora: The Gardener's Bible, by Sean Hogan. Global Book Publishing, 2003. ISBN 0881926248
• American Horticultural Society: A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants, by Christopher Brickell, Judith D. Zuk. 1996. ISBN 0789419432
• Sunset National Garden Book. Sunset Books, Inc., 1997. ISBN 0376038608