Kangaroo Paw
Hailing all the way from Western Australia, Kangaroo Paw are an extremely unique and vibrant flowering shrub that is extremely versatile and works in nearly any landscape setting. These plants got their name due to the shape of the blooms, which do resemble a Kangaroo’s Paw. Grown in full sun to light shade, these exotic plants can be planted in pots, rock gardens or flower beds.
How to Plant Kangaroo Paw
Planting these is fairly similar to planting other tropical and sub-tropical style plants. When you are preparing the soil always be sure to add in soil and water conditioner as well as break up the soil well around the hole to allow for strong root growth. Kangaroo Paw like to be in soil that will drain well so for areas high in clay or hard soil, be sure to break it up to allow for water penetration. These plants are a clumping style much like ornamental grasses and will grow to 2-4’ tall and 1-2’ wide, take this into consideration when planting so as to not to overcrowd the plants and allow them room to grow. These plants work especially well in container gardens, rock gardens, in retaining walls and planted in rows to create some height behind other smaller plants.
How to Care for Kangaroo Paw
These exotic plants bloom most in spring and summer when cool nights and warm days speed up the growing process. Fertilizing regularly will help the plants to push out abundant colorful blooms all season long. It is recommended that you fertilize once per month, March through October with Super Charged Moon Dust Fertilizer. Throughout the year Super Charged Moon Juice is used monthly as well to promote root growth and help the plants push through any stress it may experience either environmental or mechanical. Watering is fairly simple as well, these plants like to be soaked completely and allowed to dry between waterings. This will encourage good strong root growth and once established the plants can become more drought tolerant.
How to Trim Your Kangaroo Paw
Kangaroo Paw are one of the few plants that can be propagated by seed. Once the plants bloom is spent, small seeds grow in the flower that will drop to the grown and can eventually grow into another plant. Like other plants if you’d like to see more blooms it is recommended that you remove spent blooms with sharp pruning shears by making a clean cut under the spent bloom. By doing this you the plant will then send singles to produce more blooms as this is it’s natural way of reproduction. It is not recommended that you cut these plants far back like you may do with other ornamental grasses but simply remove any dead or dying branches that may occur throughout the growing season. All pruning should be done in early spring or late fall.
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