June’s Practically Perfect Plant!
USDA Zones 4 – 9. Full sun to part sun. Likes well drained, moist soil, but can handle drier soils once established. 5 – 6 feet tall, around 5 feet wide but slowly spreads over the years.
The Giant Fleeceflower – A Serious Attention Grabber!
The Giant Fleeceflower definitely deserves Practically Perfect Plant status! It is stunning, very low maintenance, and well behaved!
I discovered this plant when I visited a favorite nursery many years ago and asked for a large perennial that would block the view of our yard from our neighbor’s dog. I had lilacs lining a stretch of fence between our yards, and had also planted a blue spruce tree along that side of the yard. But until the spruce grew considerably larger, there would be a big gap in the foliage along that fence, and the neighbor dog used it as the ideal spot to just sit and bark at us any time we were in our back garden.
The gap needed to be filled, and quickly! But I didn’t want to plant something that would be difficult to move once the blue spruce filled in. The man I spoke with at the nursery had the PERFECT plant.. The Giant Fleeceflower! And it just so happened that he had brought in some divisions from his own plant that day!
The Ugly Duckling
When you find Giant Fleeceflowers as small plants at a nursery, they may not look very attractive. It may be hard to imagine that they’ll someday grow into magnificent clumps of lush, deep green foliage topped with gorgeous, feathery, white plumes. But the Giant Fleece Flower is an ugly duckling of the perennial world. In just two or three years it will be full sized and become one of your garden favorites!
Giant Fleeceflower is an Excellent Problem Spot Solution!
The Giant Fleeceflower was the absolute perfect choice to fill in the temporary vacant spot along my fence. It completely filled in the void within a couple of years. Once my spruce grows much wider, I’ll have to find a new, prominent spot for this beauty, because now I will never be satisfied with a garden lacking Giant Fleeceflower! It is so easy to grow and gives so much in return. I just water it somewhat regularly. I’m then rewarded with a striking, huge display of gorgeous white flowers that begin in early June, turn to a cream color by late July, then more of a pinkish tan shade that still looks fantastic as summer wears on!
Block Eyesores or Improve Privacy
If you want to block an eyesore from your view, or block your neighbor’s view into your yard, you should definitely consider the Giant Fleeceflower. If you don’t need to block any views, make up some other reason to get one!
Other than being watered, the Giant Fleeceflower only requires being cut back in late fall or early spring, as it dies down to the ground each year. And even though it dies back each winter, it grows so quickly in spring, that it is almost full sized by the beginning of June! It creates a great privacy screen from mid spring through fall.
Giant Fleeceflowers spread by rhizomes and don’t seem to produce volunteer plants, so you don’t have a constant battle keeping them where you want them. What a well mannered plant! If they become wider than you want, simply dig up some of the rhizomes in early spring and share with friends or neighbors. They are sure to appreciate it! This is not a plant that you see often in nurseries. You may need to do some searching to find one, but believe me, it will be well worth the effort!
Be sure to check out these other Practically Perfect Plants!