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Anigozanthos 'Bush Dawn' (Yellow Kangaroo Paw) - This evergreen perennial forms clumps to 1 to 2 feet wide with bright green strap-shaped leaves to 2 to 3 feet tall. From spring until fall ( (nearly year-round along coast) emerge the bright yellow tubular flower buds that flare open at tips like a paw. The flowers are held on branching 5- to 6-foot-tall stems that are covered with downy yellow hairs.
Plant in a sunny and open position in the garden in well-drained soils. Irrigate regularly and fertilize in spring (not heavily and keep Phosphorus on the low side). Fans only flower once and need to be cleaned out after the flowering period so remove the old leaves down to as low as possible at the end of a season. Care should be exercised that the new emerging fans are not damaged. Hardy to about 25-30 degrees F. Attracts hummingbirds.
The genus was first named by the French botanist Jacques Labillardière 1800 when he collected and described the type species, Anigozanthos rufus, which he had collected during the d'Entrecasteaux expedition to Southwest Australia in 1792 though he did not provide a meaning for this name in his description. Several botanical texts list it as a combination of the Greek words 'anoigo' meaning "to expand" and 'anthos' meaning a "flower" which would be in reference to the the flower being split but others speculated it to be the combination of the Greek words 'anisos' meaning "unequal" and 'anthos' meaning a "flower" in reference to the irregular corolla. It was hybridized by the late Merv Turner who bred his plants to be ink spot resistant. We have been growing this beautiful yellow cultivar since 1985.
Information displayed on this page about Anigozanthos 'Bush Dawn' is based on our research conducted about this plant in our nursery library as well as from information provided by reliable online resources. We also include our own observations made about it as it has grown in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant performed in the containers in our nursery field. We will 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.
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