Spacing & sowing

Plant spacing

6 ft 7 in

In-row spacing

6 ft 7 in

Between rows

8 ft 2 in

Square-foot density

Not suited to SFG

Growing

Type

Shrub · Perennial

Botanical family

Mixed / other

Sunlight

Full sun to partial shade, on a sheltered wall.

Watering

Regular watering is essential — a wall-trained plant sits in a rain shadow.

Feeding

A balanced feed in spring, then a potash-rich one in early summer.

Frost tolerant

Yes

Flowering

June

Pruning

A light trim after flowering in late summer, and harder pruning in spring if it needs it.

Overwintering

Protect it through cold spells, especially in colder gardens.

Through the year

• Apr–Apr Bud Break
• Apr–Jun Spring Growth
• Jun–Aug Flowering
• Aug–Dec Growing
• Jan–Apr Growing

Pests & problems

• Scale insects Immobile brown or white bumps fixed to stems and leaf undersides, sucking sap and weakening growth. Wipe off with a damp cloth or dab with horticultural soap; watch for the sooty mold that follows.
• Winter cold damage in exposed sites
• Slow growth for the first two or three years

Garden allies

Beneficial predators that hunt this plant's pests — grow their favourite flowers nearby to recruit them. ★ companion plant

• Hoverfly Syrphidae
  Hunts Scale insects

  Bee-mimicking flies whose legless larvae graze aphid colonies clean while the adults pollinate. A ribbon of shallow, nectar-rich flowers kept in bloom all season recruits wave after wave of them.

  Plant nearby CalendulaChamomileFennelFrench marigoldPhaceliaSweet alyssum
• Ladybird (lady beetle) Coccinellidae
  Hunts Scale insects

  The gardener’s favorite ally: adults and their alligator-shaped larvae each eat thousands of aphids, plus scale, mealybugs, and other soft-bodied sap-suckers. Grow flat, open flowers for the adults and never spray a colony that ladybird larvae are already working.

  Plant nearby CalendulaCilantroCosmosDillFennelYarrow