|
Pachystegia insignis (Marlborough Rock Daisy) - An evergreen shrub that can reach to 3 feet tall by 5 feet wide. The leathery oblong 3- to 6-inch-long leaves are tomentose initially but age to a glossy olive green above with dense white hairs on the underside and are held at the ends of the densely-hairy stems. The large 2- to 3-inch-wide white daisy flowers having a double row of white ray petals surrounding the center of dark yellow disc flowers emerge from decorative globular buds held above the foliage on 6 inch long stems in the summer months.
Plant in full to pat sun in a well-draining soil and water occasionally. This plant is fairly hardy, tolerating temperatures down to 15ºF to 20ºF and is quite resistant to wind.
Pachystegia insignis grows naturally in coastal limestone rock faces in the Marlborough district of the northeastern South Island New Zealand as well as futher inland Kaikoura Ranges. The name for the genus comes from the Latin words 'pachy' meaning "thick" and 'stegia' meaning "cover or "covering" in reference to the the thick bracts that cover the flower head. The specific epithet means "conspicuous", "eminent", "notable","distinguished" or "outstanding" which are all apt terms discribing this attractive plant when it looks its best.
We offered this beautiful plant in the mid-1990s, listing it in our 1994 to 1996 catalogs. Our plants were seed grown plants from seed off plants growing in a raised bed in the shade house next to the Biology Department greenhouses at the University of California Santa Barbara by the greenhouse manager John Bleck. Unfortunately, this plant was difficult to vegetatively propagate and produced very few viable seed. Young container plants of this species are rarely very presentable in a container and this combined with the limited numbers produced forced us for practical reasons to discontinue production of this plant.
The information displayed on this page about Pachystegia insignis is based on our research conducted about this plant from books in our nursery library as well as from information that is provided by reliable online resources. We also have included our own observations made about it as it grew in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant performed in the containers when we had them in our nursery field. We also include comments received from others and welcome hearing from anyone who has information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information aiding others to better grow it.
|
