One of the frustrating things about growing and propagating plants is when you find an incredible plant, offer it for sale, and virtually no one buys it. Such is the case with the Texas native, Ageratina havanensis, aka: Havana Mistflower, Eupatorium havanense. This fascinating woody perennial, formerly classified as a eupatorium, forms a 3′ tall x 7′ wide mound of foliage, that’s smothered starting in late October with a dense blanket of white flowers. I can think of little else that gives you this much flower power in the fall sun garden. An array of butterflies and moths are regular visitors. The photo below is from mid-November this year. Located with enough space, there is never any required maintenance. Any idea why we never could get folks to purchase these when they were offered through PDN?
When I’m shopping at PND, I enjoy the various lists you have–Tony’s Favorites, etc. I think there’s one for giant plants, too? Maybe have a list of plants at risk of retirement, or in need of fans, or some such. I’d look, at least.
Thank you for adding a smile to nearly every day.
The pluses are it is Fall blooming. And I believe it is also drought tolerant. A height of 3’ is a good height for a garden location. However, a 7’ width may deter some unless it can be easily pruned to control its spread. Where I used to live, I got plenty of direct sunlight. But where I live now, with mature oaks and maples, I don’t think it would thrive anywhere on my property.
The other possibility is marketing. When I get an email from PDN about plants on sale, featured plants, etc and I click the link, I am presented with 10+ web pages of plants. For some, that would be heaven. For me, I am overwhelmed and I rarely go past the third web page. If there were a way to filter your featured offerings, such as by zone, dormancy period, light requirements, etc, it would increase my chances of stumbling upon your hidden gems.
For reference, I live in Zone 7b North Carolina.
Great comment…we’ll investigate. Thanks.
Wow, if it is hardy in Zone 10a then I missed something special. I am always looking to extend the nectar/pollen supply into winter to support the butterflies and bees. One success story I purchased from PDN is Eupatorium Hernandezii, blooming now in my zone 10a garden it supports all sorts of bees, butterflies, moths and wasps. That’s not to mention it’s inherent beauty in the November Garden when everything else is winding down.
Keep up the good work PDN !
So glad to hear that the Eupatorium hernandezii is performing well for you. We’ll eventually put this one back in production…it’s just too good not to share.
I grew Ageratina havanensis in the Austin, TX area for two years. It is moderately findable in nurseries there, probably bolstered by being locally native in an area where relatively few plants will grow.
My main complaint with it was that it’s pretty nondescript for most of the year, with maybe 4-6 weeks of white in November and then brown puffy seeds. In Austin, where most flowers bloom for months and there isn’t really a classic fall color vibe anytime, a short bloom duration followed by brown was a hard sell.
I actually think it would look nicer here in NC where that bloom duration is more typical and an interesting brown texture works well for late fall. But, there is more competition for attractive plants here too.
I wonder how it would look in a fall garden with the always magnificent Baccharis halimifolia and a variety of asters. Would it be the weakest link, or would it earn its keep as a fresh variation on that theme?
You’re correct, which is whey diversity is so important in the garden. We enjoy the fact that different plants go in and out of flower, which adds to the changable nature of the garden. We like Baccharis halimifolia, but it reseeds terrible, something we’ve never seen with Ageratina havanensis.
I planted some last year in San Antonio. I looks like a small bush. Has never gotten more than 2.5ft high as it falls over to the sides. It is about 3 feet wide. Kind of boring. I only bought it because it was Eupatorium and because the flowers seem to be the kind to attract butterflies. It has been only mildly successful at either. It does grow well and is super easy to grow, even in scorching hot sun. Some commenter mentioned the brown/dead flowers – yep, not too ‘showy’. I crumpled mine in hopes they would reseed but nothing happened. I am not too sad because it’s not even as exciting as the purple trailing lantana which blooms in very late winter and it does take up a lot of space.
It’s bloom time is fall, when it is quite showy. Lantana does indeed have a much longer bloom time. You are correct, that when the flowers fade, they turn brown.
Do I know why it didn’t sell? No. I will say the listing should say at top FRAGRANT, FRAGRANT, and did we mention FRAGRANT?
My neighbor just came over to pick something up. As she was leaving she asked what he heavenly fragrance in the air was. I said “oh probably those old havanense down the hillside”. It was 78 today. The havanense decided to put up another show of completely covering themselves with flowers. They did that over a month ago as well. They grow native in the tiniest cracks all along barren limestone shelves down my hillside and have grown there probably for longer than I have lived here. I really don’t get the complaints that they are boring. They’re nearly evergreen, never NEVER ask for one thing of you, never suffer anything, never look bad, and they are reliably the dead last thing to put up a show when everything has given up and they have zero competition. What else fills this gap? It’s almost not possible to have too many.
And that FRAGRANCE.
Great tip…thanks.