Plant, Tree & Shrub Library

Other Names:  Lollipop Plant

Description:

This evergreen shrub or subshrub will typically reach up to two feet in height; slender white flowers emerge from showy, overlapping golden yellow bracts; blooms primarily in summer, but will bloom year round in tropical climates

Ornamental Features

Golden Shrimp Plant features showy spikes of white tubular flowers with gold bracts rising above the foliage from mid spring to mid summer. Its glossy oval leaves emerge light green in spring, turning dark green in color with distinctive light green veins the rest of the year.

Landscape Attributes

Golden Shrimp Plant is a multi-stemmed annual with a mounded form. 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 pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. It is a good choice for attracting bees and butterflies to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Golden Shrimp Plant is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Mass Planting
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Golden Shrimp Plant will grow to be about 3 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 3 feet. Its foliage tends to remain dense right to the ground, not requiring facer plants in front. 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 does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This species is not originally from North America. It can be propagated by cuttings.

Golden Shrimp Plant 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.