Walton's Plant Library

* This is a "special order" plant - contact store for details

Other Names:  Soapwort

Description:

A bold accent plant for the daring garden designer, this plant forms a compact rosette of sword-like blue-green leaves adorned with curly white hairs, from which a tall spire of creamy bell flowers rises in summer, excellent for dry sites

Ornamental Features

Hairy Adam's Needle features bold spikes of creamy white bell-shaped flowers rising above the foliage from mid to late summer. It has attractive bluish-green evergreen foliage. The sword-like leaves are highly ornamental and remain bluish-green throughout the winter.

Landscape Attributes

Hairy Adam's Needle is a multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with a more or less rounded form. Its relatively coarse texture can be used to stand it apart from other landscape plants with finer foliage.

This shrub will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. Deer don't particularly care for this plant and will usually leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. Gardeners should be aware of the following characteristic(s) that may warrant special consideration;

• Spiny

Hairy Adam's Needle is recommended for the following landscape applications;

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

Planting & Growing

Hairy Adam's Needle will grow to be about 18 inches tall at maturity extending to 5 feet tall with the flowers, with a spread of 24 inches. It tends to fill out right to the ground and therefore doesn't necessarily require facer plants in front. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 20 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 not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This is a selection of a native North American species.

Hairy Adam's Needle 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. 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.

 

* This is a "special order" plant - contact store for details