.png) Melianthus major
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- common names: honeybush, peanut butter plant
- flowering season: early summer
- height: 3 to 5 feet
- Light requirements: sun, afternoon shade where summers are very hot
- Soil requirements: average
- Water requirements: average, drought tolerant when mature
- Growth habit: upright vase shaped growth
- How to propagate: from seeds or dividing
- Leaf type: large fingered grayish leaves
- Ways to use it: grows well in a large container or in the ground; with age it will fill out to become large and bushy needing more space
- Special characteristics: older plants will sometimes send up new growth from their roots a foot or two away from the main growth
This plant grows into a woody shrub about five feet in height, having large fingered, grayish or silvery leaves with a zig-zag pattern to the leaf margins as though they were cut with large pinking shears. Survives our winters although sometimes the stems are killed back in winter and must resprout from the roots. On warm summer days the rubbed leaves have a peanut butter-like scent. Flowers here in early summer with clusters of reddish stems and green blooms above the leaves. When grown in areas that do not freeze, such as parts of California, this can reach eight to ten feet tall. Cold hardy to USDA Zones 7 - 11. Plants that survive in Zones 7 and 8 may freeze to the ground, however will resprout from the roots in spring. If a young plant looks like it has frozen, do not be too quick to dig it out. You might discover signs of life and wish you hadn't disturbed it. Spring and early summer planting is better than planting in the fall. Makes a big statement in a large container with other comparably sized plants. |
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