Lessertia montana
“Mountain Cancer Bush”

Lessertia montana “Mountain Cancer Bush” Lessertia montana “Mountain Cancer Bush”

photo: (left) Kelly Kilpatrick

THE most popular plant in our gardens last year! Bushy, re­fined, silvery-green pea-like foliage makes a shimmery backdrop for multitudinous dazzling “Parrot’s Beak” blooms. Suspended like so many ornaments, the 3” blooms are a color so lip-smacking & luminous red you want to kiss them! Ultra beautiful in its Springtime bloom, it takes on new character in Summer when the flowers are followed by loads of exceptionally showy (and squeeze worthy) inflated pink and green seed pods. We grow ours at the edges of garden beds, as it likes very well drained soil & not too much water. I add a bit of compost in Spring. Can be cut back in Winter for fresh new foliage each year & can be grown in a barrel-sized container. To 3’ high & wide. From the Drakensberg mountains in South Africa.

Annie

Lessertia montana “Mountain Cancer Bush”

Sun
Avg/Low Water 

drought tolerant

Perennial
USDA Zones 8-10