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| Berlandiera lyrata, chocolate flower |
This was a banner year for chocolate flower in my garden - it started blooming in June and is still going strong now. It loves poor, dry soil and lots of sunshine. Plant chocolate flower in full sun at the front of the border (it grows 10-20 inches tall) adjacent to a sidewalk or stone path. The warmth from the hard surface seems to enhance and prolong the fragrance of the flowers, and you'll get to enjoy it every time you walk by.
Once established, it needs very little - or no - water, and no fertilizer. Berlandiera is native to the desert southwest and the high plains of Colorado, Kansas, and Oklahoma. It may reseed and naturalize in gardens of USDA zones 4-9.
Chocolate flower was a Plant Select winner in 2004.
No need to diet when you've got Berlandiera - give it a try in your garden!
Who doesn't love Chocolate flower? even if it is a bit dowdy at times, and a mere DYC! One of my faves: just about the most drought tolerant plant I know. This year I discovered TWO new Berlandieras: there is more chocolate out there!
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite plants for the morning garden! Here, it pops up freely in the hottest, driest spots EVERYWHERE and lives years, yet somehow only 1 in my yard...
ReplyDeleteGreat plant to post!
PK, I can't wait to hear about your new chocolate flowers and hope they are introduced soon. Perhaps an 84% cocoa?
ReplyDeleteDavid, I only have one in my yard too - in the hottest and driest spot!Maybe I need to remedy that situation!!