Name: Strawflower - Apricot Peach
SKU: P2025-12
Availability: InStock

Strawflower – Apricot Peach

$7.50

Strawflower (Helichrysum bracteatum, also known as Xerochrysum bracteatum) is a tender perennial, often grown as an annual in New Zealand, in the daisy (Asteraceae) family that grows 60–90 cm tall and 30–45 cm wide. It prefers full sun and well-drained, moderately fertile soil. It has narrow green leaves and produces papery, daisy-like blooms in a wide range of bright colours that retain their form and colour when dried. It is a great companion plant to attract pollinators and is excellent for long-lasting cut flowers or dried arrangements.

Description

Strawflower (Helichrysum bracteatum, also listed as Xerochrysum bracteatum) is a much-loved ornamental and useful garden plant, prized for its long-lasting, papery blooms in vivid shades of yellow, orange, red, pink, and white. This is a apricot-peach coloured variety. Native to Australia, it has become a staple of cottage gardens worldwide thanks to its ability to flower abundantly over summer and autumn and to hold its colour and shape when dried, making it one of the best flowers for everlasting bouquets and crafts. In the garden it is easy to grow, thriving in sunny, well-drained positions, and its blooms attract bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects. While sometimes noted in folk medicine for wound-healing and anti-inflammatory properties, today strawflower is chiefly valued as an ornamental for fresh and dried arrangements. In New Zealand, it is most reliably grown as an annual, as it is frost-tender and short-lived in colder conditions.