Looking amazing this month is the evergreen, southeast US native groundcover, Houstonia procumbens. Our selection of roundleaf bluets, Houstonia ‘White Clay’, is our 2003 cutting collection from Clay County, Florida. Originally discovered in 1902 in Charleston, South Carolina, and hailing from the southeastern US, (southeastern South Carolina west to eastern Louisiana), roundleaf bluets live their lives in virtual anonymity. Houstonia procumbens is a southern coastal fire-habitat denizen, a cousin to the better-known bluets, naturally found in moist pineland savannas. In the garden, it forms a well-behaved (1″ tall x 2′ wide in 20 years) groundcover, adorned with small white flowers from fall through early spring, when it’s a food source for zebra swallowtail butterflies. In our dryland rock garden, growing among agaves and cactus, we see light re-flowering through the spring and summer. Please help us understand why this is one of the worst selling plants in the history of our Plant Delights catalog.
I am very interested in this plant and hope I can find the right spot – moisture, sunlight, soil to accommodate it. I see it around the coastal SC island where I live. SO cute.
Planted in a “Dryland Rock Garden”. I live in Zone 7B/8A, home of the deepest red clay you have ever seen and am surrounded by huge oak trees.
I will never be able to create that kind of garden and have killed agaves at least 3 times. So, instead of wasting
both money and effort, I buy plants better suited for my growing conditions. I do try to thoroughly read the descriptions in the
catalog, looking for those hidden gems. This is why I have not bought this particular plant.
I live in coastal SC where the plant was found. We have plenty of hot weather but no rocks. Lots of sand. Houstonia procumbens grows well in my crevice garden but also self seeds in our shady sandy beds, moss garden, and most other habitats. I see it around town in various locations–around buildings, under shrubs, etc. In the gravelly crevice garden it is spectacular in the spring, growing as dense sheets that are covered with confluent flowers. I needs to remove handfuls of the plant just to keep its neighbors from being swallowed. One of the best native plants for many locations in the garden. Buy one.
I myself only have experience with bluets that are native to the northeast and seem to pop up virtually anywhere. They are absolutely lovely. My opinion:
1. Perhaps an additional picture with other plants in harmony vs just standalone
2. Remove the old “Mountaineer” version from Plant Delights website that is no longer available but listed at $12 (or at least on plants no longer available get rid of the price field)
3. Current Plant Delights shows it at being sold out.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us John! We have considered your suggestion about the search results and will contact the developer to request the change.