Lakeshore Garden Centres Plant Finder

Other Names:  Cat's Paw

Group/Class:  Bush Gems Celebrations Series

Brand:  Ramm Botanicals

Description:

This variety features gorgeous stems of unusually colored, two toned flowers with yellow bases and bluish-green tips; a unique addition to garden beds, borders or containers

Ornamental Features

Aussie Spirit Kangaroo Paw features unusual racemes of yellow tubular flowers with bluish-green tips rising above the foliage from late winter to late fall. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its small grassy leaves remain bluish-green in colour throughout the year.

Landscape Attributes

Aussie Spirit Kangaroo Paw is an open herbaceous annual with an upright spreading habit of growth. 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 cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Aussie Spirit Kangaroo Paw is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Border Edging
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Aussie Spirit Kangaroo Paw will grow to be about 12 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 18 inches. Although it's not a true annual, this 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 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. This plant does not require much in the way of fertilizing once established. It is not particular as to soil type, but has a definite preference for acidic soils. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid. 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.

Aussie Spirit Kangaroo Paw is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. It is often used as a 'filler' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, providing a mass of flowers against which the larger thriller plants stand out. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.