Fleece Flower

Fleece Flower is a elevate that may strike terror into the see of anyone who has had a run-in amongst Japanese Knotweed. I've struggled amongst Knotweed myself, too tin flame tell y'all firsthand that it is a horribly invasive flora that is side past times side to impossible to irradiate. 

Fleece Flower, Persicaria polymorpha and Knotweed await really similar, too hence the confusion amongst these 2 plants is understandable. But dissimilar Knotweed, Persicaria polymorpha does non spread or self-seed. It's a clump forming perennial that has been well-behaved inwards my garden for at to the lowest degree a decade.

Fleece Flower inwards my garden.

Giant Fleece Flower (on the middle right) mixing inwards amongst other belatedly flavor perennials 

at Grange Hollow Nursery.

Though it has the proportions of a large shrub, Fleece Flower is a herbaceous perennial that dies correct dorsum to the Earth inwards fall. New increase rockets upward each spring, too past times the terminate of June, it's well-nigh half-dozen feet tall. In July it is covered inwards big white plumes. As they age, the flowers accept on an attractive pinkish hue (see film above). The flowers produce cause got 1 tyke flaw. Their fragrance is acidic too a flake unpleasant (in my humble opinion).

My Persicaria polymorpha is inwards a somewhat sheltered topographic point against a fence, but the plant's stems are too hence sturdy I don't imagine you'd cause got to stake them fifty-fifty inwards a to a greater extent than opened upward location. My flora gets morning sun/afternoon shade, but I cause got seen them planted inwards total sun.

Fleece Flowers are pretty adaptable to a gain of soils. I cause got never had to H2O my plant, fifty-fifty during a drought, too hence I'd tell it's pretty adaptable to a gain of wet conditions equally well. 

Japanese Beetles appear to the alone pests. They haven't been a huge nuisance, but they produce similar the flowers. 

Plant type: Perennial

Height: 3-6 ft

Spread: 3-5 ft

Flower: White

Bloom period: Summer

Leaf: Green, lance-shaped leaf

Light: Sun to part-shade

Companion Plants: Ornamental grasses, Echinacea, Rudbeckia

Divide: Spring or fall

Problems: Japanese Beetles

USDA Zones: 4-9

 Persicaria microcephala 'Red Dragon' at the Niagara Botanical Garden 

Fleece Flower, Persicaria microcephala can endure a work plant. The species flora is native to Communist People's Republic of China where it tin flame endure flora inwards moist grasslands too forested areas.  It spreads past times stolon or runners which are stems that grow at the surface or merely below the ground.

Persicaria microcephala 'Red Dragon' is a sterile cultivar that is clump-forming. The argue to grow this perennial is the interesting lance-shaped foliage amongst its lipstick cherry stems. The leaves are purplish-brown amongst a blue-green chevron inwards the spring. By summertime the leaves are silvery-purple too piece of work greener inwards the autumn (in hotter climates the foliage coloring modify may non endure equally dramatic).

'Red Dragon' has modest white flowers from September to October.  Like Giant Fleece Flower it is tolerant of a seat out of soil types including clay. 'Red Dragon' prefers somewhat moist conditions, too hence H2O it good peculiarly inwards its starting fourth dimension year. 

I cause got tried to overwinter this flora without success. In colder climates, similar mine, y'all may bespeak to grow this equally an annual or overwinter it inwards a protected spot.

Plant type: Perennial

Height: 23-35 inches (60-90 cm)

Spread: 23-35 inches (60-90 cm)

Flower: Tiny white flowers

Bloom period: Summer

Leaf: Lance-shaped, green, silverish too bronze leaf

Light: Sun to part-shade

Divide: Spring or fall

Problems: No serious problems

USDA Zones: 5-8

A actually brusk Youtube video that may give y'all the best idea 

of the size too shape of 'Red Dragon'

Share this post