"Kangaroo Paws"

[ghar41]

Stumbled on to these at Lowe's....wow, they sure are spectacular companions with blue Encephalartos and dioons...most important, they are undemanding so you don't have to modify the care of your valuable cycads...

[ghar41]

and...

[ghar41]

same...

[LJG]

I use a lot of Kangaroo Paw at my house. This is dwarf you have. The ones I have flower to 6 feet tall. I have them in yellow, red and orange.  The dwarf ones work much better with your cycads. They really are a great plant.

[Walter John]

That's some great gardening combo you have there, well done. You can trim these out of season right down to ground level. This ensures removal of any fungus leaves and promotes new healthy plants. Try not to shade them at all, I did (one of my many errors) and they don't like it much.

[Dave-Vero]

Odd plants.  They're in a small monocot family, the Haemodoraceae.  Bloodroot (Lachnocaulon) is native to North America.  Found in low-nutrient wetlands, like Okefenokee Swamp.  Easy to grow--in fact, it can be a weed in cranberry bogs!  Flora of North America

[Cycadcenter]

Dave,

I think you may be mistaken with your post.

"Kangaroo Paw" is a native Aussie species and is in fact the state flower of Western Australia.

http://www.anbg.gov.au/anigozanthos/index.html

[tropicalb]

Bruce...

I have some of them too...I got them from a local nursery in San Marcos...they sure look like the ones in the link you posted.

the plant:

the flower:

[Walter John]

(Cycadcenter @ Dec. 27 2006,07:45)

QUOTE

Dave,

I think you may be mistaken with your post.

"Kangaroo Paw" is a native Aussie species and is in fact the state flower of Western Australia.

http://www.anbg.gov.au/anigozanthos/index.html

Anigozanthos (Kangaroos paw) is a genus of Haemodoraceae and is native to Australia in the state of Western Australia.

[ghar41]

(Cycadcenter @ Dec. 26 2006,17:45)

QUOTE

Dave,

I think you may be mistaken with your post.

"Kangaroo Paw" is a native Aussie species and is in fact the state flower of Western Australia.

http://www.anbg.gov.au/anigozanthos/index.html

Cycadcenter,

Yes, the link describes the plants I have, right down to the 6 pedal flowerettes.  Apparently mine are the "dwarfs."

Really has been a great plant, here it is foggy, and cold in Dec. and they look great, adding lots of color to a landscape that is at a low point in color.

I have them planted under pistacio nut trees, which are slow growing, but I too am learning the lessons of too much shade.  My Dioons are starting to complain, and failed to produce new leaves last year, on some plants.

I hate to remove the trees but am starting to value the lack of shade in my neighborhood more and more.

[Gonzer]

Supposed to be treated as a short-lived perennial in SoCal. My experience with  plants in/ground for 4 years tells me this might be fact.

[Dave-Vero]

If you're familiar with the North American bloodroot, the first time you see a kangaroo paw, it looks familiar.  Plenty of family resemblance.  The kangaroo paws are of course a lot more spectacular.

____

Gonzer:  The French are building a new tram train for Reunion, complete with the highest rail bridge in the world.  Perhaps a bit less stupid than building expressways on Oahu?

[DoomsDave]

Glenn:

Kangaroo paws are all the rage with hybridizers right now, since they're drought tolerant.

Your garden shows them used to best advantage!

BRAVO!

dave

[Scott]

Glenn, I'm glad you made this topic. I have two huge that I bought from a nursery. When the flower stalk dies, are you supposed to cut it at the base? Also same with any leaves?

Thanks,

Scott

[Walter John]

(Scott @ Dec. 29 2006,04:01)

QUOTE

Glenn, I'm glad you made this topic. I have two huge that I bought from a nursery. When the flower stalk dies, are you supposed to cut it at the base? Also same with any leaves?

Thanks,

Scott

Yes.

[LJG]

(Scott @ Dec. 28 2006,14:01)

QUOTE

Glenn, I'm glad you made this topic. I have two huge that I bought from a nursery. When the flower stalk dies, are you supposed to cut it at the base? Also same with any leaves?

Thanks,

Scott

I started cutting mine out right after the last flower opens. I have a lot of these in the ground and they can be messy when the dead flowers fall off. Plus cutting them out gets them to send up more flower stalks. Mine bloom almost year round.

Like Dave said, there are many more that keep appearing. I saw one this spring that was so dark red, the flowers were almost black. Figured I see it again and now wish I would have bought the damn thing.