Licorice plant offers pale hues and soft textures, making it a pleasing backdrop for more brightly colored blossoms.
Licorice plant (Helichrysum petiolarespp.)
is characterized by its small leaves and thin stems, but its much tougher than it looks.
Credit: Peter Krumhardt
The trailing plant thrives in hot, humid weather andtolerates drought well.
Additionally, its fuzzy, scented foliage prevents pests from bothering the plant.
When the plant does bloom, it displays small white flowers.
Credit: Jason Wilde
It is also a good choice for containers and hanging baskets.
Be careful when planting licorice plant in the warmest zones of the United Statesit can reseed and become mildlyinvasive.
If that is a problem in your region, removing licorice plants flowers helps keep it under control.
Credit: Peter Krumhardt
In California, licorice plant has been declared invasive and should not be planted.
In the garden, dig a hole as deep as your plants nursery pot.
Remove the licorice plant from the pot and loosen the soil around its roots.
Credit: Denny Schrock
Place the plant in the hole and backfill it with soil.
When planting multiple licorice plants, space them about 30 inches apart.
Water new plants well to settle the soil around the roots and help the plants become established.
Credit: Marty Baldwin
In part shade, the plants can become leggy and need pruning to prevent them from looking messy.
Licorice plant doesnt like to sit in water, as excess water can cause rot.
Once the plant is established, its drought-tolerant, although it prefers regular watering.
Credit: David Speer
Temperature and Humidity
Licorice plant grows best in dry, hot environments that receive little rainfall.
Fertilizer
Pruning
Licorice plant handlespruningwell.
Give trailing varieties a pinch early in their growth to encourage good branching.
Credit: Marty Baldwin
Repot licorice plant yearly in a somewhat large container, being careful not to disturb its roots.
Neem oil cantreat all of these.
Then, sow the seeds on top of a seed-starting mix, leaving them uncovered.
Credit: RJT LLC
Supply bottom heat at about 68F.
Seedlings should appear two to three weeks later.
Wait until the weather warms to set them out in the garden.
In Zones 911, sow seeds outside in early spring in a full-sun site.
Cover them lightly with sand to keep them from blowing away or being eaten by birds.
Take 6-inch stem cuttings and remove the leaves from the bottom half.
Dip the stems intorooting hormoneand settle them in a small pot of moist potting soil.
The easiest way to make more licorice plants is to divide one.
Replant the divisions immediately.
Types of Licorice Plant
Icicles
Helichrysum petiolareIcicles bears threadlike silvery foliage on upright 2-foot-tall plants.
This variation thrives in Zones 9-11.
Lemon Licorice
Helichrysum petiolareLemon Licorice bears silvery-chartreuse foliage and can grow to 2 feet wide in containers.
Plant in Zones 9-11.
Petite Licorice
Helichrysum petiolarePetite Licorice is a dwarf form with smaller leaves.
It grows only about 1 foot wide in Zones 9-11.
Silver Mist thrives in Zones 9-11.
Its the perfect plant for adding bright hues to hot, sunny spaces.
This tough plant blooms all summer.
While all varieties are beautiful, keep an eye out for its sweetly scented selections.
If you have a bright, sunny spot indoors, you could keep it flowering all winter.
Gerbera Daisy
Gerbera daisiesare so perfect they hardly look real.
Gerbera daisies last around a week or more in a vase, making them a favorite of flower arrangers.
This tender perennial survives the winter only in the countrys warmest areas, specifically Zones 9-11.
In the rest of the country, the gerbera daisy grows as an annual.
It does well in average soil thats kept evenly moist but not overly wet.
Ornamental Pepper
Heat up your garden withornamental pepper.
These are so attractive in their own right that they can be grown just for shownot for eating.
Although the peppers are edible, their flavor is lackluster compared to peppers grown for the table.
They like rich, well-drained soil that is evenly moist.
When a licorice plant is grown in optimal conditions, it self-seeds freely.
However, most of the resulting plants wont be identical to the parent.
To produce identical plants, propagate via stem cuttings.
Helichrysum petiolare.California Invasive Plant Council.
