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Calliandra emarginata |
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| Common name |
dwarf red powderpuff |
| Family |
fabaceae |
| Life cycle |
shrub (Z9-11)   |
| Flowers |
red-pink |
| Size |
6' |
| Light |
sun-part shade |
| Cultural notes |
ordinary garden soil, may be drought tolerant once established |
Subtropical shrub in the mimosa corner of the pea family, native to Central and South America. Its flowers, produced freely throughout the growing season, are puffy balls of bright pink/red stamens, 1-2 inch in diameter. The curiously paired leaves that fold together add to the attraction of this species. It can be trained into a small tree or a rounded shrub – but is likely to die back to the ground in areas that experience more than the lightest of freezes. Its first winter in our garden threw rather more than a light freeze at it, and I feared our powderpuff was a goner – but by the middle of march, a single shoot appeared from the base. Not the strongest return, but at least it was alive. It bloomed by June of that year, and continued nicely through summer. The following two winters were much milder, and our plant came through without any damage, which meant it started blooming sooner – as early as the first half of April. The winter of 2021 had an even severer freeze (record-breaking winter storm Uri), and once again I feared for puff's survival. But again, it eventually returned from the base, although it waited till April that year.
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| | Tentative return to life in mid-March after hard freeze |
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| | Cute-as-a-button buds, too |
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| | In the aftermath of the Texas Feb '21 megafreeze... |
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| | ...and regrowth a couple months later |
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In our garden, this plant grows in the following area: left fence border About my plant portraits
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Last modified:
November 10, 2024
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