Lakeshore Garden Centres Plant Finder

Group/Class:  Fan Series

Brand:  Benary

Description:

This beautiful variety has vivid salmon-pink flower spikes that rise on deep burgundy stems above medium green foliage with copper variegation; excellent in the garden or containers; maintains great form and is an excellent border planting

Ornamental Features

Fan Salmon Cardinal Flower features showy spikes of salmon tubular flowers with pink overtones rising above the foliage from early summer to early fall, which emerge from distinctive dark red flower buds. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its serrated pointy leaves remain green in colour with showy coppery-bronze variegation throughout the season.

Landscape Attributes

Fan Salmon Cardinal Flower is an herbaceous annual with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its medium texture blends into the garden, but can always be balanced by a couple of finer or coarser plants for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and is best cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season. It is a good choice for attracting butterflies and hummingbirds to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Fan Salmon Cardinal Flower is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• General Garden Use

Planting & Growing

Fan Salmon Cardinal Flower will grow to be about 20 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 10 inches. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 8 inches apart. Although it's not a true annual, this fast-growing plant can be expected to behave as an annual in our climate if left outdoors over the winter, usually needing replacement the following year. As such, gardeners should take into consideration that it will perform differently than it would in its native habitat.

This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in rich soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid, and parts of it are known to be toxic to humans and animals, so care should be exercised in planting it around children and pets. It can be propagated by division; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.