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| Category: Shrub |
| Family: Chenopodiaceae (Goosefoots) |
| Origin: Australia (Australasia) |
| Evergreen: Yes |
| Flower Color: Insignificant |
| Bloomtime: Not Significant |
| Height: 3-5 feet |
| Width: 3-5 feet |
| Exposure: Full Sun |
| Summer Dry: Yes |
| Irrigation (H2O Info): Low Water Needs |
| Winter Hardiness: 20-25° F |
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Maireana sedifolia (Pearl Bluebush) - This small shrub grows typically to about 3 feet tall by as wide but occasionally seen with stems rising to 5 or 6 feet. It has small succulent white leaves that are crowded along the upright-growing stems. It has small paired pale pink to tan colored flowers that are barely noticeable. It does well in hot dry spots in the garden or in light shade in inland valleys and thrives in alkaline soils, both well drained and heavy though does poorly in wet soils. This plant is hardy to around 20 ° F (we lost plants at 18 ° F in the garden during the freeze of 1990). It is a unusual plant prized for its nearly white colored foliage that can be striking in the garden, especially when used with contrasting colored plants. Its long lasting foliage is useful in floral arrangement and it is often used for this purpose in Australia and Israel. Though it has a bit of an odd shape with upright stems rising above the main bulk of the plant, these can be pruned to shape to keep the plant denser or used to enhance the plants strange nature. Pearl Bluebush is native to a wide range within the arid and semi-arid areas of the Australian state of South Australia, where it often is the dominant plant. Most sources cite the name for the genus as honoring the 19th century French naturalist and botanist Charles Antoine Lemaire (1800–1871) but in reality, when the French doctor and naturalist Alfred Moquin-Tando first came up with the name describing Mairena tomentosa, the type species of the genus, he attributed the name to his friend Joseph Francois Maire (1780-1867), a little known naturalist who maintained an important herbarium in Paris. In Paul Wilson's revision of the genus in 1975 (Wilson, Paul G., "A Taxonomic Revision of the genus Maireana (Chenopodiaceae)". Nuytsia 2 (1): 47, 1975) he notes that Moquin-Tando named the genus "after the French naturalist Maire." Our thanks go out to David Hollombe for researching the etymology of this name. The specific epithet means "leaves like sedum" in reference to the succulent leaves looking like those of a Stonecrop. Our plants originally came from the Los Angeles Arboretum in 1989 where there is a very nice specimen in a raised planter in a patio behind the entrance buldlings. We have been growing and selling it at our nursery since 1992.
The information about Maireana sedifolia displayed on this web page is based on our research conducted in the nursery's horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also include observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments we receive from others and welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share cultural information that would aid others in growing this plant. |
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