 Glumicalyx goseloides (Zaluzianskya goseloides)
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- common names: nodding chocolate flower
- flowering season: all summer into fall
- height: 10 to 15 inches
- Light requirements: at least a half day of sun
- Soil requirements: average
- Water requirments: average
- Growth habit: grows as a low clump
- How to propagate: tip cuttings in early summer
- Leaf type: small leaves with serrated edges
- Ways to use it: at the front of a flower bed or border; in a pot of its own where it can be enjoyed close up
- Special characteristics: you must get close to the flowers to notice their scent
Native to South Africa, the nodding chocolate flower is an unusual and brightly colored perennial. Both the leaves and the flowers are fragrant, the flowers of chocolate and the leaves with a different spicy scent. Not everyone thinks the flowers are chocolate scented, although most do. The flowerheads face outwards and downwards, or “nod”. Said to be hardy to -10°F, we have yet to try it outdoors in our garden. It grows to about 15 inches tall with nodding clusters of orangish red blossoms. You will have flowers from late spring through late summer if you deadhead the flowers as they age, before they can set seeds. Plants will spread moderately and it is easy to separate rooted sideshoots and start new plants. It likes lots of moisture in summer, and better-than-average drainage over winter. |
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