Plant of the Month – May
0Blue Emu Bush, Blue Bells
Eremophila hygrophana ‘BlueBells’
- Plant Form: Evergreen shrub
- Water Use: Low
- Mature Size: 1-2 ft. tall x 3-6 ft. wide
- Exposure: Full sun
- Bloom Time: Spring (Mar-May), Late Summer (Aug), Fall (Sept-Nov), Winter (Dec-Feb)
- Native to: Australia
- Hardiness: Cold hardy to 25°F
Blue Emu Bush has been described as the perfect shrub: one that blooms throughout the year, thrives in hot temperatures but handles frost, needs no pruning, and even tolerates drought. Its only potential weakness is overwatering; let it dry out between watering, giving it deep, infrequent watering once a week in summer, twice a month in spring and fall, and once a month in winter. Avoid planting in shade. Hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies love the nearly continual blue-violet flowers (year-round where no frost occurs), and the fuzzy foliage reflects heat to retain moisture. This plant is often mistaken for other silver-leaved “sages” like Texas Rangers that hail from the southwest U.S., but Emu Bushes are from Australia and are not related. Blue Emu Bush provides vivid color and silvery foliage to contrast with dark green plants along walkways and patios, in rock gardens, cactus gardens, in containers, and most anywhere you want lasting color.
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