Plant Library

Description:

A compact, shrubby succulent featuring light green, spoon shaped leaves that are oppositely arranged, covered with silvery fuzz and a waxy coating; red flowers on branched stalks in summer; great for containers and rock gardens, or as a small border hedge

Ornamental Features

Silver Teaspoons features showy spikes of red bell-shaped flowers with orange overtones rising above the foliage from early to late summer. Its attractive succulent oval leaves remain light green in color with showy white variegation and tinges of silver throughout the year. The white stems can be quite attractive.

Landscape Attributes

Silver Teaspoons is an herbaceous evergreen perennial with a mounded form. Its medium texture blends into the garden, but can always be balanced by a couple of finer or coarser plants for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and should not require much pruning, except when necessary, such as to remove dieback. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Silver Teaspoons is recommended for the following landscape applications;

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

Planting & Growing

Silver Teaspoons will grow to be about 3 feet tall at maturity extending to 4 feet tall with the flowers, with a spread of 3 feet. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 30 inches apart. Its foliage tends to remain dense right to the ground, not requiring facer plants in front. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 10 years. As an evegreen perennial, this plant will typically keep its form and foliage year-round.

This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It is very adaptable to both dry and moist growing conditions, but will not tolerate any 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 pH, but grows best in sandy soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This species is not originally from North America. It can be propagated by division.

Silver Teaspoons is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting 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 growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden. Be aware that in our climate, this plant may be too tender to survive the winter if left outdoors in a container. Contact our experts for more information on how to protect it over the winter months.