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Topic Title: One more question
Topic Summary: anybody have experience with Kangaroo Paw?
Created On: 04/21/2017 06:30 AM
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 04/21/2017 06:30 AM
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scombrid

Posts: 18021
Joined Forum: 07/24/2003

We bought 2 Kangaroo Paw plants (Anigozanthos sp.) last year, one at FIT and one at Leu (same grower). They bloomed through the summer but when we finally got rain in September one kicked the bucket, black stem rot it seems.

The other one went nuts this winter and quadrupled in size from November to March with unbelievably showy blooms. Now the flowers are declining. Seems winter is when they like to put on a show.

How much do I cut this thing back?

Can I dig and divide? Normally I would be inclined to dig and divide in cooler weather but it was growing so vigorously this winter I didn't want to mess with it. Of course I'm not sure that was normal winter behavior; we had tropical orchids in the ground out back that bloomed straight through the winter because it never got cold enough to shut them down.

How to get through the humid wet season? I believe this plant likes dry heat. Our soil has excessive drainage so we've got that going but when it rains...

Should I pull the mulch back around the base of the plant or even use gravel around it to encourage it to dry more quickly between summer deluges and deny fungus a place to get started?



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 04/21/2017 07:00 AM
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Central Floridave

Posts: 52251
Joined Forum: 07/22/2003

Not sure. I planted one a few years back. It lasted maybe a year. don't know much about them. The flower is unique looking!
 04/21/2017 10:56 AM
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ww

Posts: 16088
Joined Forum: 08/17/2007

Its a member of an oddball plant family, from southwest Australia, which has a roughly San Diego climate.  

A member of the same plant family, Lachnanthes caroliniana, a native plant of low-nutrient wetlands that grows well in gardens, is worth a try, but no one seems to grow it for sale.  Pity.  

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