By Beatrice Hawkins
I recently helped a friend plant a loropetalum “plum gorgeous” as I am told they are extremely hardy and I know how beautiful they look in full flower. Where it is planted it will have to prove very hardy as there has been a number of casualties of so-called hardy plants previously!
As with most plants they respond to good soil and good drainage and will thrive if given care and attention. However I am told they will also grow quite happily in clay and are not too fussy in their requirements. Once established they take little water to keep them going but do not like to dry out over extended periods of heat. As with most things, mulching is very beneficial and will help with water retention and a dose of slow release fertiliser in Spring will be helpful. They are also frost hardy so will suit a very wide range of areas.
As they grow nicely in a dense dome shape naturally, they require little pruning other than to keep them neat or shaped to your pleasure. They will grow to about 1.5 metres high with a spread of about two metres, liking full sun but will tolerate some shade. A remarkably easy care plant, they can be used trimmed as a hedge, their weeping habit makes them ideal in an Asian inspired garden and they are a stunning feature plant and are even suitable for growing in pots.
Two in pots either side of my front door on my front patio would look really nice. I may have to give that idea some consideration and search out some good pots to complement them!
I have seen one in a front yard near where I live that has been pruned into a ball about four-feet in diameter. In full flower in Spring it looked absolutely spectacular!
These hardy shrubs were first found in Hun an province of China and are native to Japan. They are closely related to witch hazel.
Their common name is “Chinese Fringe Flower” and the Australian bred ‘Plum Gorgeous’ is the best of the loropetalums for foliage colour. Even without the spectacular raspberry coloured flowers in Spring and Autumn, they are a great addition to any landscape with their year-round deep purple foliage.
A common complaint about these hardy shrubs is that they lose some of their lovely foliage colour in summer but it would appear that Plum Gorgeous is not as affected as some others, maintaining its deep purple colour year round.
While Plum Gorgeous may be the most spectacular for flower and foliage colours, loropetalums come in a range of colours from white to pale yellow flowers with green leaves, through varying degrees of pink with bronze or purple foliage right up to Plum Gorgeous!
I really like the name and whoever came up with it deserves credit as it really is very evocative and describes the shrub beautifully in the Australian vernacular. I hope the one planted thrives as it will be the first thing seen as you enter the house yard gate.
Garden Competition entries closed on Friday and by the time you read this the judging of the 35 gardens will have been completed. Entries came from the Warwick town area, Leyburn and Allora so it will have been an interesting trip around with the judge, Barry Murphy, from Stanthorpe. Although entries are down on last year it was to be expected given the dry and discouraging year we are experiencing. Thankyou to all those who have braved the elements and entered the competition.
Don’t forget St Mark’s rose show or the Horticultural Societies Spring Flower Show next week. Entries are free and will be accepted on Wednesday morning from 8 am until 10am, with judging then and the show open to the public from midday. Check out your garden, vegies and flowers, your pot plants and see what you have that you could bring down to St Mary’s hall. Without your participation we don’t have a show!
If you can’t find anything to enter come down and have a look at what other people have supplied and enjoy a light lunch of fresh sandwiches or a cuppa and something yummy and catch up with friends.
*This is an old article that has been digitised so our readers have access to our full catalogue.
