Plant of the Month – February
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Trailing Indigo Bush
- Dalea greggii
- Plant Form: Evergreen groundcover
- Water Use: Low
- Mature Size: 1-2 ft. tall & 3-9 ft. wide
- Exposure: Full Sun
- Bloom Time: Spring (Feb-May), Summer (June – August)
- Native to: New Mexico, Texas, Mexico
- Hardiness: Cold hardy to 10°F
Trailing Indigo Bush creates a mounding, low-maintenance, easily established groundcover for any arid location. Silvery blue-green foliage adorns this spreading plant that roots at the nodes of long, trailing stems, covering everything in its path and making it especially useful to stabilize slopes. Its tiny, purple, pea-like flowers are not showy from a distance, but butterflies, native pollinators, and humans appreciate their beauty close-up. This durable groundcover shuns fertilizer and overwatering, but some watering in summer helps keep the foliage full. In the late winter or early spring, cut off the stems of last season’s growth to stimulate new growth in spring. Besides being tolerant of drought and reflected sun, Trailing Indigo Bush is happily rabbit resistant. One of the toughest groundcovers available, it is valued on slopes, medians, in rock gardens, and wherever soil stabilization is needed.
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