The Casual Gardener

Without a doubt the most fabulously non-stop, drought-tolerant, long-lasting, incredible annual of the season in my garden has been the White Licorice plant you see in the above photo.

It has outlasted almost every plant in the garden – surviving drought conditions and multiple frosts. In May I planted this White Licorice as a baby – it’s arms were less than the length of my fingers. The tag that came along with the plant said it would only grow to be 12” tall. Some of the vines hang at least 24” from the edge of the pot down to the ground, and have been full and gorgeous the entire summer and fall.

Utilizing my water-saving container planting technique, I planted “Monster” in a large pot in partial sun then promptly began neglecting him. Over the summer I only watered the plant maybe five times – he prefers to be ignored. While other more ordinary annuals like petunias were failing in the heat, this plant just kept on going and only wilted once when it was a particularly hot day three weeks after his last watering.

Downright amazing!

White Licorice combines with almost every plant imaginable and is an excellent container filler. Two thumbs up for the White Licorice (‘Helichrysum petiolare’) – a real Monster of a plant!

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com