Lakeshore Garden Centres Plant Finder

Other Names:  Everlasting

Brand:  Plant Select

Description:

A rounded, dense evergreen shrub that produces fuzzy, silvery foliage topped with long lasting yellow strawflowers in summer; highly adaptable and tolerates extremes in temperature, water, or soil types; an outstanding accent plant in tough environments

Ornamental Features

SteppeSuns® Hokubetsi is covered in stunning clusters of yellow flowers with gold overtones at the ends of the branches in early summer. Its attractive tiny tomentose pointy leaves remain silver in colour throughout the year.

Landscape Attributes

SteppeSuns® Hokubetsi is a dense multi-stemmed evergreen perennial with a mounded form. It brings an extremely fine and delicate texture to the garden composition and should be used to full effect.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and should only be pruned after flowering to avoid removing any of the current season's flowers. It is a good choice for attracting bees and butterflies to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

SteppeSuns® Hokubetsi is recommended for the following landscape applications;

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

Planting & Growing

SteppeSuns® Hokubetsi will grow to be about 3 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 4 feet. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 4 feet apart. Its foliage tends to remain dense right to the ground, not requiring facer plants in front. Although it is technically a woody plant, this plant can be expected to behave as a perennial in our climate if planted outdoors over the winter, usually regrowing from its base (crown) 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 is very adaptable to both dry and moist growing conditions, but will not tolerate any standing water. It is considered to be drought-tolerant, and thus makes an ideal choice for a low-water garden or xeriscape application. This plant should not require much in the way of fertilizing once established, although it may appreciate a shot of general-purpose fertilizer from time to time early in the growing season. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America. It can be propagated by cuttings; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.

SteppeSuns® Hokubetsi 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. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. 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.

This plant is not reliably hardy in our region, and certain restrictions may apply; contact the store for more information.