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Products > Astelia 'Silver Shadow' PP 22,195
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| Category: Perennial |
| Family: Asteliaceae (Asparagales) |
| Origin: New Zealand (Australasia) |
| Flower Color: NA |
| Bloomtime: Spring |
| Parentage: (A. chathamica x A. nervosa) |
| Height: 2-3 feet |
| Width: 3-4 feet |
| Exposure: Cool Sun/Light Shade |
| Irrigation (H2O Info): Medium Water Needs |
| Winter Hardiness: 20-25° F |
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Astelia 'Silver Shadow' PP 22,195 (Silver Astelia) - An evergreen perennial that forms a clump to 3 feet tall by about 4 feet wide with bold, metallic silvery-green recurved leaves. Plant in part sun to light shade in a well-drained soil. Although this plant can take periods without water and is marketed as a drought tolerant plant in New Zealand, it likely will look better if given occasional to regular irrigation in our dry summers in California. Hardy to about 20-25 degrees F. With its parentage this plant may well be tolerant of coastal conditions. This hybrid cultivar was selected by Tim and Hamish Prebble in December 2004 from seedlings resulting in the cross they made between the Astelia chathamica (Silver Spear) as the seed parent and Astelia nervosa (Mountain Astelia) as the pollen parent in November 2003. Astelia chathamica is a large plant that comes from the Chatham Islands, located over 400 nautical miles east of the North and South Island of New Zealand and Astelia nervosa, the Mountain Astelia, is an evergreen perennial that comes from the tussock grasslands of the central North Island of New Zealand. It differs from Astelia chathamica in having smaller leaves that have a silver overlay on both upper and lower surfaces while Astelia chathamica is green above and silvery-white below. It differs from its other parent, Astelia nervosa, in having larger stature and broader longer leaves and a silver overlay on both upper and lower surfaces while Astelia nervosa typically only has this on the upper surface. Astelia 'Silver Shadow' is protected in Europe by European Plant Breeders Rights number EU 20102227 and in the United States by US Plant Patent 22,195 issued on October 11, 2011. Astelia have male and female flowers on separate plants (Dioecious) and neither are usually showy and usually are buried down in the foliage - at the time of patent filing, no flower production had been observed so we do not know whether this selection is a male or female. Some online sources list the plant with insignificant white flowers followed by red berries which implies that this cultivar is female but we have not verified this. The genus name comes from combining the Greek words 'a' meaning "without" and 'stele' meaning a "trunk" or "pillar" in reference to these plants not forming a stem or trunk. They have long been considered part of the Liliaceae family but most recent treatment puts them in the Asteliaceae family in the Asparagales order with the relatively unknown genera Collospermum, Milligania and Neoastelia.
Information displayed on this page about Astelia 'Silver Shadow' PP 22,195 is based on the research conducted about it in our library and from reliable online resources. We also note those observations we have made of this plant as it grows in the nursery's garden and in other gardens, as well how crops have performed in our nursery field. We will incorporate comments we receive from others, and welcome to hear from anyone who may have additional information, particularly if they share any cultural information that would aid others in growing it.
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