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Linanthus pungens

 
Linanthus pungens
granite prickly phlox
Synonym(s) Leptodactylon pungens; Gilia pungens
Common name granite prickly phlox
Family polemoniaceae
Life cycle perennial (Z3-7)
Flowers white or pink
Size 4-12"
Cultural notes needs perfect drainage; dislikes hot summers

Semidesert wildflower of the US Southwest. Fine green leaves contrast with gray stubble left behind from the previous year; five-petaled flowers. Seedlings (like the one in the photo at top left) stay small for a long time, just whispy little things that are dwarfed even by the small pebbles that serve as mulch in our troughs. It will be a challenge to grow these well (or to keep them alive, for that matter), given their dislike of both winter wet and summer hot (two things Pennsylvania is good at providing). So far, one of my trough-grown plants has survived into a second year (photo at top right), but it is still as small as it ever was.

We left this plant behind in our Pennsylvania garden (and wish it well); we don't grow it in Houston.

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PlantLinks to other web pages about Linanthus pungens


Seed-starting details for this plant

  1. Seed from '07 trade. Baggy 65F (~50%G, 26-28d)
  2. Seed from '13 trade. Baggy 35F (6w; 45%G, 3-5w) - 70F (15%, 3-20d). Few seedlings survived.


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