Melampodium leucanthum

Rise & Shine Plant Lovers!

This week I’m sharing a plant from my TOP 5 LIST of all time!

Melampodium leucanthum is not a common plant to most, but is a super star player that won’t let you down! This really tough perennial is perfect for adding 8-10 months of non-stop flower power where there’s hot reflected heat and not much water. Need a hardy flowering, low growing, almost no maintenance plant to add at your entrance or marque for some color without the work of annuals? Then give Melampodium a try mixed in with ornamental grasses, around structural plants like Agaves or blended with other low water use perennials. A profusion of small white daisy flowers with yellow centers might scare you at first thinking they need to be pruned every five minutes to remove spent flowers, however, you won’t need to do a thing! Just sit back and enjoy as the plant is self-cleaning, meaning the old flowers just fade into the plant while new flowers cover the old almost like magic! The bright white flowers stay open 24/7 making this one great for moonlight gardens as well. Interestingly, with all these flowers, this plant does not attract bees making it a great match for areas with pedestrian traffic or fearful clients. This little beauty is best suited for full sun or a little light shade with pruning only as necessary to shape. In colder winters, Melampodium can go dormant to just sticks which is perfectly fine. When this happens, be sure to cut back to about 4-6 inches and don’t let anyone pull them out thinking they’ve died. I promise they will come back from bare sticks in early spring, so just be patient. Once you see green leaves emerge, it will only be a few weeks before the white flowers are covering the entire plant for another glorious spring-fall season of easy color!!! Check out the attached photos and info sheet. We have a beautiful crop of 1gallons ready to ship. 

You’re going to love this plant if you don’t already! YAHOOOO for Melampodium!

Have you noticed it’s spring? Time to get busy….GO SPRING!!!

MSWN May 2020 Photos

Have a fabulous week!

Wendy