Plant Finder

Ornamental Features

Color Guard Adam's Needle features bold spikes of creamy white bell-shaped flowers rising above the foliage from mid to late summer. Its attractive sword-like leaves are creamy white in color with distinctive green edges. As an added bonus, the foliage turns a gorgeous pink in the fall.

Landscape Attributes

Color Guard Adam's Needle is an herbaceous evergreen perennial with a more or less rounded form. Its relatively coarse texture can be used to stand it apart from other garden plants with finer foliage.

This plant will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and is best cut back to the ground in late winter before active growth resumes. Gardeners should be aware of the following characteristic(s) that may warrant special consideration;

• Spiny

Color Guard Adam's Needle is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Rock/Alpine Gardens
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Color Guard Adam's Needle will grow to be about 18 inches tall at maturity extending to 3 feet tall with the flowers, with a spread of 24 inches. Its foliage tends to remain dense right to the ground, not requiring facer plants in front. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 20 years. As an evegreen perennial, this plant will typically keep its form and foliage year-round.

This plant should only be grown in full sunlight. It prefers dry to average moisture levels with very well-drained soil, and will often die in standing water. It is considered to be drought-tolerant, and thus makes an ideal choice for a low-water garden or xeriscape application. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This is a selection of a native North American species.

Color Guard Adam's Needle is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its height, it is often used as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden. Be aware that in our climate, most plants cannot be expected to survive the winter if left in containers outdoors, and this plant is no exception. Contact our experts for more information on how to protect it over the winter months.