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Stoep Pots

By Anno Torr

Jan/Feb Articles     Previous Next

Cool and Crisp

Blue Felicia and white Sutera cordata – now Chaenostoma cordatum – add a cool beach-holiday feel to the stoep.

 

Plants:

  • 2 x Felicia amelloides

  • 2 x Chaenostoma cordatum

 

Materials:

  • Here we’ve used a heavy stone pot in a mottled mid- to dark brown

  • Potting soil

 

Situation: Full sun to partial afternoon shade

Water needs: low; water when soil is dry

Feeding: Feed with an organic fertiliser every 6 weeks

 

Gardener’s tip:

Dead-head the daisies to keep them in flower for as long as possible. Pinch out the growing tips to encourage bushy plants.

Trim creeping stems of the Sutera to prevent them from becoming woody.

Both produce an abundance of flowers and will soon deplete the soils; feed often.

Felica amelloides for containers

Autumn Foliage

With flowering time over, this simple arrangement focuses on colour and leaf shape for an uncomplicated and eye-catching display. The Red Pagoda will retain its rich red and line coat through autumn and winter, a most attractive foil to the jade blue/green of its sibling. C. arborescens ssp. undulatifolia is often labelled as Ripple Jade or Blue Waves in nurseries around the world. It is a native of Klein Winterhoek Mountains of the Eastern Cape. It is used in Kirstenbosch Gardens in light shade, or in full sun as a pot plant. This Crassula flowers in spring and summer. Full size ranges from 50 cm up to 80 cm, with a 50 – 60 cm spread.

 

Plants:

  • 3 x Crassula capitella. We love the C. capitella subsp. thyrsiflora ‘Red Pagoda’

  • 2 x Crassula arborescens subsp. undulatifolia – variously labelled as Blue Waves in nurseries

 

Materials:

  • A small round container - we love how the pale mint green shows off the vibrant greens and red.

  • Potting soil

 

Situation: Full sun to partial afternoon shade

Water needs: low; water when soil is dry

Feeding: feed when in flower.

 

Gardener’s tip:

Place in a sunny spot with some afternoon shade to retain the gorgeous red coat. Cut off spent flowers as they go over. Crassula capitella usually dies off in winter but will re-sprout from the base.

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