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Ceratotheca triloba |
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| Synonym(s) |
Sporledera triloba |
| Common name |
African foxglove |
| Family |
pedaliaceae |
| Life cycle |
annual |
| Flowers |
violet (summer) |
| Size |
4-5' |
| Light |
sun |
From seed  |
Germinate at room temperature
detailed seed-starting info below
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| Seed ripens | late September |
Tall annual, with very upright form. The whole plant, leaves and flowers, is softly fuzzy. Lavender flowers with prominently veined lips start up just as the garden is entering its summer slump. In any year, this is a large plant - but they outdid themselves last season, when they grew taller and bushier than ever. They just kept on blooming till frost!
Their sheer size can be an asset, but be careful where you place it. Ours have taken to self-seeding in the cracks between the flagstone path around our pond, and charming as they are, they get mightily in the way. They have a slightly sticky feel to them, and the whole plant has a cloying scent - it's not exactly a bad smell, and not very noticeable until you get up close, but as garden fragrances go, I wouldn't rate it highly.
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In our garden, this plant grows in the following area: waterfall pondside One or more images of this plant are included in my stock photo catalog About my plant portraits
PlantLinks to other web pages about Ceratotheca triloba
Visitors to this page have left the following comments| Sybil N. Phillips | Mar 08, 2006 | I started mine with bottom heat and the germination time was rather fast. They do germinate where ever a seed hits the soil when the weather is warm to hot. One seed catalog states that they are rare which is hard to believe as they are good germinators. It also listed Zones 9 and 10. I am Zone 7/8 and no problem. THEy bloom until frost and I think they might would live through the winter. |
| Robert J. Campbell | Jul 28, 2006 | I have enjoyed this plant the last two summers. Just wanted to add that the plant can be made shorter but broader and fuller, both of foliage and flowers,
by pinching back after the first blossoms appear. I also pinch once at an early stage, when about 6 inches tall. |
| Rink van Veenendaal | Oct 31, 2009 | A picture of Cerototheca trilobata is on a postalstamp of Botswana dated Christmas 1974 |
| Huub | Jun 22, 2014 | What means 4-5'?
4-5 ft - or 1.2-1.5 meters. That's as tall as a well-grown specimen will grow – most of ours stay a bit smaller, maybe closer to 1 meter. |
| dave in houston | Oct 04, 2019 | Hi, Rob: Can I direct sow Ceratotheca seeds in the fall here in zone 9a? How deeply should I cover them? Thanks for your time and consideration!
I have not grown ceratotheca since moving to Houston (and I never direct-sowed them in Pennsylvania), but I suspect that they can be sown outdoors in the fall here. Good luck! |
- Seed from '01 trade. Celltray with bottom heat (67%G, 7-16d)
- Same seed as above. Baggy 70F (40%G, 4-7d)
- Same seed as above. Baggy 70F (87%G, 7d)
- Seed from '05 garden. Baggy 70F (78%G, 5-9d)
- Seed from '07 garden. Baggy 70F (80%G, 4d)
- Seed from '11 garden. Baggy 70F (55%G, 7-10d)
- Seed for 'Alba' from NARGS '22/'23 exchange. Baggy 70F (75%G, 4d)
Not sure why the mixed results on the same seed, but easy overall.
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Last modified:
January 14, 2023
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