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Spigelia marilandica 'Little Redhead'
Little Redhead Indian Pink
Item #: 6866
Zones: 5b to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 21" tall
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
We received this compact form of the wonderful North American native Indian pink from plantsman and garden writer Pam Harper, who extolled its virtues after many years in her garden. Pam originally got the plant years earlier from Bob McCartney of Woodlanders Nursery. While all Spigelia marilandica are great plants, Spigelia 'Little Redhead' is more compact, topping out at 21" tall. The stalks are topped from mid-May until mid-July (NC) with stunning, dark blood-red, tubular flowers highlighted with yellow inside...a hummingbird delight.
Maintenance:
Indian Pink is an extremely low maintenance plant. Really all that is necessary is to cut it to the ground after frost turns it brown in late fall. Though a long-established plant could be divided, it is not a plant which requires periodic division to rejuvenate older plants. Left to its own devices, and with decent growing conditions, it should improve every year; each year bringing more stems and thus more flowers. Spigelia also stays put, it never needs to be reigned in since it doesn't travel anywhere.
Growing Conditions:
Spigelia marilandica is most often encountered as a woodland plant, though like many shade tolerant plants it will also thrive in full sun where it will grow stronger and bloom more. So it is a superb plant for either light shade or full sun. It will grow well in average soils that range from dry to moist.
Natural Impact:
'Little Redhead' is very showy in bloom and its floral display is the reason to grow it. Its foliage is tidy, though not terribly interesting. The floral tube is a bright clear red and the petals are bright yellow where they divide and reflex open at the throat of the floral tube. The effect is yellow stars against a red background, one that attracts hummingbirds.
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Other Attributes
Genus: Spigelia
Flower Color: Multicolor , Red
Leaf Color: Green
Bloom Time: Spring
Container Role: Fillers
Garden Themes: Cottage Garden Plants , Fairy Garden Plants , Gnome Gardens , Living Wall , Rock Garden Plants
Other: Bog Garden Plants , Cut Flower Plants , Drought Tolerant Plants , Florida Native Plants , Georgia native plants , Hummingbird Plants , Pollinator Plants , Medicinal Plants , North American Native Plants , North Carolina Native Plants , Plant Delights Introductions , Plants that Attract Birds , Texas Native Plants , United States Native Plants