Bloom color: Pure white, sometimes with a faint tinge of purple
Bloom time: Continously, 365 days a year
Scent: Moderately strong, sweet scent which you can smell while passing by. Scent is sometimes described as vanilla, marshmallow, or cherry pie. To my nose, it smells like vanilla or marshmallow.
Sun/shade: Best in morning sun, or dappled shade throughout the day. Protection from afternoon sun in hot summer areas.
Moisture: I've read that it is fussy about watering, but this has not been our experience. One gets regular and sometimes frequent watering by the lawn sprinklers, and another plant gets very little watering in a different spot. The only difference we've noticed is that the one that gets more water from the lawn sprinklers blooms much more heavily. Therefore, our experience suggests that it is drought tolerant but does best with regular water, which I would not describe as "fussy".
Pruning: Any time. I prune back hard in early spring to freshen up and re-shape the plant, then again in the summer if needed. Best appearance requires regular deadheading of blooms, which turn brown (see close-up image from Summer 2002, below). Lower limbs can be pruned out to open up the base of the plant.
Problems: Lower leaves that touch the ground turn brown.
Purchased: About 1997 at La Crescenta Nursery in La Crescenta, CA.
Planted: About 1997.
Conditions: Growing in the dappled shade of a large Mimosa tree.
Other comments: Easy care. Continuous blooming, usually completely covered with bright white, sweetly scented blooms. Also good as a potted plant. Habit is spreading and rounded with lax, arching stems but the appearance is attractive and does not fall open in the center. All parts are poisonous if ingested.
