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| Category: Shrub |
| Family: Verbenaceae (Vervains) |
| Origin: West Indies (North America) |
| Evergreen: Yes |
| Flower Color: Light Lavender |
| Bloomtime: Summer |
| Height: 4-6 feet |
| Width: 4-5 feet |
| Exposure: Full Sun |
| Seaside: Yes |
| Irrigation (H2O Info): Low Water Needs |
| Winter Hardiness: 25-30° F |
| May be Poisonous (More Info): Yes |
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Duranta stenostachya (West Indian Skyflower) - Grown for its summer flowers and ornamental fruit, this evergreen shrub grows to about 6 feet tall and wide. In the summer, clusters of blue tubular flowers appear followed by wonderfully contrasting orange-yellow berries. It does best in full sun with periodic deep watering - surprisingly drought tolerant for a plant from a subtropical region. It is hardy to about 20-25 degrees F. This species has a smaller less upright growing habit than D. repens but in ideal conditions it can still get to 15 feet, but in most gardens it is considerably less and can easily be kept low by pruning. This plant is native to the Windward Islands, the larger southern islands of the Lesser Antilles, within the West Indies. The name for the genus honors Castore Durante (AKA Castor Durante da Gualdo) a 16th century Italian botanist and physician who wrote a book in 1585 describing medicinal plants from Europe and East and West Indies. The specific epithet is from the Greek words 'stenos', meaning "narrow" or "tight" and 'stachys', meaning "a spike" in reference to the narrow flower spike compared to other species in the genus. This species is smaller with smaller darker green leaves, tighter flower clusters and lacks any thorns compared with Duranta erecta.
The information that is presented on this page is based on research we have conducted about this plant in our library and from reliable online sources. We also consider observations we have made of it in the nursery's garden and in other gardens we have visited, as well how it performs in our nursery crops out in the field. We incorporate comments that we receive from others as well and welcome getting feedback from anyone who may have additional information, particularly if they know of cultural information that would aid others in growing Duranta stenostachya. |
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