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Melianthus villosus –Melianthaceae - ‘Honey Flower,' '
Kruidjie-roer-my-nie' – This South African native is an adaptable beauty that is both conventionally attractive, and provides many odd details in its life cycle to keep the interested observer happy. In comparison to the more well known and widely available Melianthus major, this plant is more reasonably sized for the smaller garden, flowering to a height of 4'-6', and has lovely fuzzy apple green leaves as opposed to the glaucous grey-green of the major. The nectar filled flowers are intricately veined bizarre beauties of green, brown, and deep purple, which are followed by large cubical green seed pods that are puffed up and pop like a balloon when pressed. The black nectar bulges out of the mouth of the flower, spilling out as the lower flowers on the spikes slowly rotate from right side up to upside down over the course of a day. Melianthus are the only genus in the plant world that I know of that have this mysterious rotation, which would make quite a subject for time lapse photography. I hope to have a day to 'waste' soon to watch it happen with my own eyes! Quite a plant for the lover of the strange!
Honey Flower is perfect for the Mediterranean climate garden, thriving with sunshine and drainage, and flowering from mid-summer to frost. It does well in many different soil types except for swampy ones. It is hardier than Melianthus major as well, reportedly surviving lows down to 10º F by sprouting from the base. Also, it is a medicinal herb in its native South Africa.
Please check our other sales - we have many listings
in the other plant categories!
- Postage and packing rates: All of my plant
auctions and sales can be combined freely to be mailed in the same box.
We mail plants using
USPS Priority Mail. The shipping and handling charges are calculated
automatically by ebay using the weight of the order and the USPS
shipping charts. They will be packaged with great care and effort to
ensure they arrive safely and ready for your garden. They are sent in
pots, fully rooted and watered for the journey. A lot of time and
materials go into the preparation of your plants for the journey, which
is reflected in the small handling charge per plant. I assure you - not
a penny goes to waste! Larger orders reduce the shipping cost per plant
substantially.
-
Potato
Rock Nursery is a small business specializing in
seed-grown native plants from
around the world. California nursery license #A2041.001. Potato Rock is
committed to the principle of preservation through dissemination, and
believe that the best way to preserve and encourage botanical diversity
is to allow anyone to turn their home garden into a botanical garden.
We strive to provide you with the highest quality nursery stock
representing gorgeous, difficult to find, unique and unusual native
species from different regions of the world.
- All plants
offered are in 3 ½” or 4” pots, and are well rooted and
vigorous plants. They
are guaranteed to be true to species and variety and to arrive in good
condition, ready to grow. I will refund the price of plants minus
postage or replace the plants if there are any problems whatsoever.
Please unwrap the plants immediately on arrival and report any problems
right away.
- I reserve the right to
delay
shipments to particular areas of the country due to extreme heat,
unseasonable cold, or other unforeseen circumstances, and you will be
informed of any such delays. Please
note that I am currently prohibited by agricultural regulations from
mailing out of the US, to the state of Hawaii, and the US territories
including Puerto Rico. California residents will need
to add 7.25% Sales tax.
- If you contact me with a question
and I don't respond,
please note these factors: Firstly, many of my replies seem to end up
getting filtered by spam control software, both ones sent via ebay
messages as well as my gmail account. Please check your spam folder if
you don't see my response. Also, please note that I do not have a
computer at the greenhouse, and some days I am unable to check my
email. Also, if you have an question that I have to look at the nursery
to answer, it could take a couple of days to answer. Please be patient-
I will respond!
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