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Information by: The Plant Nerd Inc.        Photographer: Mountain States Nursery

Description

Baja fairy duster is a constant bloomer that grows about 5'-10' tall and 3'-4' wide. Plants are evergreen in climates without frost; otherwise, they will freeze to the ground. Blooms are most abundant in spring, but continue year-round for constant interest. It is drought tolerant but grows fairly quickly with additional moisture. Full sun will promote flowering. It needs little shearing. It attracts hummingbirds and bees and provides larval food for butterflies.

Maintenance Tips

Calliandra californica, also known as the Baja Fairy Duster, is a beautiful, woody shrub that has an upright, open growth habit, reaching 5-10' tall and about 3-4' wide. This shrub will thrive in full sun with very little water once it is established. If it is planted in a drought-tolerant garden, it should do well with the annual rainfall, but supplemental water can encourage it to continue to bloom throughout the warmer months. Its upright growth habit makes it fairly easy to thin out when the shrub is getting too dense. Cutting back entire branches to the base of the plant will allow additional sunlight into the interior, keeping it lush and full of foliage throughout. The foliage is a host for a small butterfly so there may be times that caterpillars are present. These are beneficial butterflies at maturity, so spraying a pesticide is discouraged.