DRACOCEPHALUM ARGUNENSE

Description

Polished, needle-like foliage and disproportionately-large, brilliant silvery blue, "dragonhead", helmet-shaped flowers, each highlighted with a light blue lip, appear for a very long time from late May to August. This is a long-lived perennial that forms dark green mounds with distinctive foliage, rather reminiscent of a penstemon, with which it could easily be confused. Completely deciduous in winter, it is remarkably drought tolerant, and is also suitable for containers, rock gardens or perennial borders.

Sowing Advice

For best results, sow immediately onto a good soil-based compost. Cover the seeds with fine grit or compost to approximately their own depth. They can be sown at any time, and germination can sometimes be quicker if kept at 15 to 20 degrees C. We sow most seeds in an unheated greenhouse and wait for natural germination, as many seeds have built-in dormancy mechanisms, often waiting for natural spring germination, hence giving them a full season of growth.

Key Facts