Plant Library

Other Names:  Cat's Paw

Description:

This selection produces tall, multi-branched stems of striking, orange-red flowers from spring until late summer; a great, unusual color addition to garden beds, borders or containers

Ornamental Features

Orange Cross Kangaroo Paw features unusual racemes of orange tubular flowers with red overtones rising above the foliage from late spring to late summer. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its sword-like leaves remain green in color throughout the year. The brick red stems can be quite attractive.

Landscape Attributes

Orange Cross Kangaroo Paw is an open herbaceous evergreen perennial with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its relatively coarse texture can be used to stand it apart from other garden plants with finer foliage.

This plant will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and is best cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Orange Cross Kangaroo Paw is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Orange Cross Kangaroo Paw will grow to be about 24 inches tall at maturity extending to 5 feet tall with the flowers, with a spread of 3 feet. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 5 years. As an evegreen perennial, this plant will typically keep its form and foliage year-round.

This plant should only be grown in full sunlight. It prefers dry to average moisture levels with very well-drained soil, and will often die in standing water. It is considered to be drought-tolerant, and thus makes an ideal choice for a low-water garden or xeriscape application. This plant should not require much in the way of fertilizing once established, although it may appreciate a shot of general-purpose fertilizer from time to time early in the growing season. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in sandy soils. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America. It can be propagated by division; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.

Orange Cross Kangaroo Paw is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. With its upright habit of growth, it is best suited for use as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.