Other Names:  California Goldenbush, California Heathgoldenrod

Description:

This native, flowering shrub is covered with golden-yellow blooms in late summer to early fall; features dense, comb-like fans of tiny leaves, giving it a fine texture; a great choice for sandy soil and seaside conditions; tough and drought tolerant

Ornamental Features

Mock Heather is covered in stunning clusters of fragrant yellow daisy flowers with gold eyes at the ends of the branches from late summer to early fall, which emerge from distinctive chartreuse flower buds. It has attractive lime green foliage with hints of silver. The tiny fan-shaped compound leaves are highly ornamental and remain lime green throughout the winter. The creamy white fruits are carried on showy plumes displayed in abundance from mid fall to early winter.

Landscape Attributes

Mock Heather is a dense multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with a mounded form. It lends an extremely fine and delicate texture to the landscape composition which should be used to full effect.

This shrub will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and should only be pruned after flowering to avoid removing any of the current season's flowers. It is a good choice for attracting birds, 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.

Mock Heather is recommended for the following landscape applications;

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

Planting & Growing

Mock Heather will grow to be about 3 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 4 feet. It has a low canopy. It grows at a fast rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 10 years.

This shrub 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 particular about its soil conditions, with a strong preference for sandy, alkaline soils, and is able to handle environmental salt. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This species is native to parts of North America. It can be propagated by division.

Mock Heather makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use 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 grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.