Survival of the Fittest

Once again, let's revisit a plant. This is Lespedeza. You may recall from an earlier post that I had some worries about it because it has spent four years in the same pot, it is enormous and I fear it has become terribly root bound. I thought these factors might inhibit its blooming this year...guess I was wrong. It is blooming out of control. Still, I have a big job ahead of me because there is no doubt that this is the year it will have to be divided. Be prepared to see some pictures of me with a hacksaw.

I love this plant because it really makes a statement out on the deck and it blooms late in the year. But it has its detractors. Because it is so invasive, it's probably best to keep it contained in a pot rather than plant it in a landscape. I can definitely see that with such a survival instinct, it would choke anything that dares cross its path. Another thing you may not like is that when the blooms start falling, they fall en masse leaving your deck or patio strewn with these pink blossoms. That doesn't bother me in the least because I have a hose with powerful sprayer nozzle and I just spray everything off the deck floor and into our tiny fenced-in back yard that no one ever sees or spends any time in anyway.

This lespedeza has thrived in the same partly sunny spot on my deck and other than having put time released fertilizer pellets in the soil when I first planted it, it has only received a water soluble fertilizer maybe five times in four years. If that's not low maintenance, I don't know what is.

For me, the plusses far outweigh the minuses. Take a look at the pictures and let me know what you think.

Bookshelf: Container Gardening Books