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| Category: Shrub |
| Family: Acanthaceae (Acanthus¹) |
| Origin: Socotra Island (Indian Ocean- Yemen) |
| Evergreen: Yes |
| Flower Color: Apricot |
| Bloomtime: Spring/Summer |
| Height: 2-4 feet |
| Width: 2-3 feet |
| Exposure: Full Sun |
| Summer Dry: Yes |
| Irrigation (H2O Info): No Irrigation required |
| Winter Hardiness: 30-32° F |
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Ballochia rotundifolia - An upright shrub to 3 feet high with gray stems holding rounded ½ inch long round ovate dark green leaves. In late spring into summer appear the shrimp plant-like pale orange tubular bilabiate flowers. Plant in full sun in a well drained soil and irrigate infrequently. Cold hardiness on this plant is not well known but likely will only tolerate light frosts and short duration freezing temperatures. This is an unusual plant looks a bit like a boxwood until the flowers appear and it should proved to be a nice drought tolerant shrub in the California dry garden. Ballochia rotundifolia grows from 5,000 to 6,500 feet in elevation on the island of Socotra, in the Arabian Sea south of mainland Yemen. It was first collected in 1880 and described by the Scottish botanist Sir Isaac Bayley Balfour (1853-1922), the son of botanist John Hutton Balfour and in 1888 his Botany of Socotra was published. He presumably named the genus for his wife Agnes Boyd Balloch, whom he married In 1884. This specific epithet is in refence to the nearly round leaves. We received our cuttings of this unusual plant from horticulturalist and arborist Glen Williams.
This information about Ballochia rotundifolia 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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