Lomandra longifolia Miner's Gold ['KM-MG24'] PP33,984 (Miner's Gold Mat Rush) - An evergreen perennial with narrow pale greenish yellow strap-shaped leaves that’s tips are curiously cut as though with pinking shears. Growing smaller and with narrower leaves than typical plants of this species, this cultivar will likely reach to 24 to 36 inches tall and spread to about the same. Within the leaves emerge the spiny flower spikes with tiny creamy yellow male flowers, which unlike some other Lomandra are not fragrant.
Plant in full sun to moderate shade. This is a drought tolerant plant once established, particularly when grown in some shade along the coast, but can also tolerate regular irrigation or even wet soils. Hardy to below 20° F. A useful plant for mass plantings in difficult situations, including the Eucalyptus understory and is tolerant of a wide range of conditions and requires little to no maintenance once established. The size variation seen in Lomandra longifolia culvivars is often a function of climate and irrigation practices with ample water and the cooler coastal environments producing larger plants while withholding irrigation or in situations where plants are competing in the understory of trees, plants are often on the smaller scale.
Miner's Gold was discovered as a naturally occuring mitation of a narrow leafed green Lomandra longifolia cultivar in 2015 by Keith Miner and Jen Miner who discovered it growing in a garden in Sacremento, California. With the cultivar name 'KM-MG24' it received U.S. Plant Patent PP33,984 on March 1, 2022. It has been propagated by micropropagation (tissue culture) and was first introduced into the trade in 2022 by Pacific Plug and Liner, a propagation nursery in Watsonville, California. The name Lomandra comes from the Greek words 'loma' meaning "margin" and 'andros' meaning "male" and is in reference to a circular margin on the anthers. The specific epithet 'longifolia' means "long leaves". The genus Lomandra has long been placed with the Australian Grass Trees in the Xanthorrhoaceae or related Dasypogonaceae and more in its own family, the Lomandraceae, or combined with the Cordyline into the Laxmanniaceae, but current treatment is to put it in the subfamily Lomandroideae in the Asparagaceae. Image on this page courtesy of Pacific Plug and Liner.
This information about Lomandra longifolia Miner's Gold ['KM-MG24'] PP33,984 displayed is based on research conducted in our horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also will relate observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we receive from others and we welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share any cultural information that would aid others in growing it.
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