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Wednesday, March 28, 2018

Wildflower Wednesday March 2018: Damianita

Damianita (Chrysactinia mexicana) has been blooming in the front garden this week and I've been going out there almost every day just to enjoy their golden beauty.  I'm joining Gail at Clay and Limestone for Wildflower Wednesday to take a closer look at a great native landscape plant for Central Texas.


Soft, daisy-like flowers on bright green foliage make it so attractive in the landscape.  Highly aromatic woody stems with the scent of camphor makes it icky to deer.  Not so much as a tiny nibble.


Great view from the street side.



A nice walk especially on a cloudy day.



This October 2017 photo shows Damianita remains evergreen when not in bloom which is why I chose it to replace the under-performing Lantana originally planted here.


Still back in October showing off a good landscape plant year round.  The green mound in the island bed is also Damianita.



Green even in the snow!



Damianita is a local native which survives on rocky outcroppings in the Texas Hill Country with no supplemental water so it stays happy with just an occasional deep drink during hot summer months.  The Lantana it replaced required a lot more water to look good in this hot spot.  Damianita thrives in the reflected heat from gravel mulch, the driveway and a full southern exposure with 10+ hours of direct sun in the summer.


They are picky about pruning.  When the blooms are done I will lightly shear the tops to encourage another round of blooms which will continue until fall.  Shearing keeps them from getting leggy and topping out around 12" high though I have seen them get closer to 3' in the wild.  Sometimes a few brown stems will show and I just use clippers to cut the stems back about halfway to green them up again.  Making sure not to cut the woody stems too far back is about the only concern with Damianita.


Damianita is polite enough to set out a seedling (left) exactly where I would have added one anyway.  I'd like more seedlings because I have a lot more places to add these little wonders.


Damianita is a great choice for the streetside bed too so I added another one recently.


No wonder I'm adding Damianita wherever I can find a sunny spot in need of year-round green and bright yellow flowers!

Join Gail at Clay and Limestone on the fourth Wednesday of each month for more ideas on native wildflowers for your landscape.

18 comments:

  1. What wonderful colour! A real pick-me-up at this time of year, particularly for someone like me still ankle deep in snow! pat@siteandinsite.com

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    1. It's so bright that the camera doesn't show it. We will be hot soon enough and look to your blog for some summer relief.

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    2. I can offer summer relief, no problem! Our temperatures range from low 70s to an occasional high 80s, wonderfully comfortable without being too hot.

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  2. Replies
    1. Thank you Lea and Happy Easter to you and yours!

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  3. Replies
    1. Filler is a good word, I should probably fill up my garden with these!

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  4. Yes, that's a stunning beauty, especially with the agave and the other succulent plants around it. Wow! I would be out there all day, too. Great photos!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Beth, my favorite posts are plants from my own garden.

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  5. Glowing gold is a perfect foil for the blue grey spiky leaves (agave?)

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    Replies
    1. The large spiky leaves are agave and the thinner soft leaves are yucca.

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  6. I loved the year round pictures. There was even a string of lights in the snow - too funny. Here people light up their shrubs, why not light up everything?
    Loved it.
    Jeannie @ GetMeToTheCountry

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    1. Lights on the agave is inspired by Ethel M. in Las Vegas. It was funny to actually see snow on snowflake lights.

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    2. I bought some large snowflake lights once. They looked great in the box but when I hung them on the front porch rail they rattled every time the wind blew. Drove me crazy.

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    3. That would be annoying. These are over by the garage so I can't hear them if they did rattle.

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  7. It's very beautiful and showy! I'll check and see if it would do well here in Florida...it probably would! Beautiful landscaping!

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    Replies
    1. It's quite adaptable and I see it in yards that are irrigated so it could do well with good drainage.

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