Apache Plume Fallugia paradoxa
Other Common Name(s):
- Phonetic Spelling
- fuh-LOO-ee-guh par-uh-DOCKS-uh
- Description
-
Apache Plume is a slender, deciduous, multi-branched, flowering shrub, native to the dry and sun baked hills of the southwestern United States. At maturity, it can typically reach a height of 6 feet with an equal width and a rounded form; however, specimens have been reported at 12 feet high. The plant is distinguished by a dense growth of grayish-white, pubescent, tangled, slender stems and 2 inch saucer-shaped white blooms that appear in spring through summer. These thick shrubs can appear unkempt, but in full flower their white petals are attractive against the dark foliage. The fruit clusters, with their feathery, purplish tails, are said to resemble an Apache headdress.
Apache Plume is easy to grow in dry, limestone-based, rocky, sandy, loam or clay soils in sun to part shade. It prefers an alkaline PH, but will not grow in full shade. It is very drought tolerant. The plant tolerates temperatures down to about 20 degrees F. and would require a well-drained site in full sun with shelter from cold winds and prolonged frosts, such as a south-facing wall.
Apache Plume has an extensive root system that makes it well suited to planting for erosion control and is often used for that purpose on slopes. It can self-seed and, in optimum conditions, can become too aggressive. You can, however, prune back the oldest stems to control growth.
Diseases, Insect Pests, and Other Plant Problems:
No known diseases or insect pests.
- See this plant in the following landscape:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
-
- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
-
- Tags:
-
-
Attributes:
- Genus:
- Fallugia
- Species:
- paradoxa
- Family:
- Rosaceae
- Uses (Ethnobotany):
- Native Americans used the plant for medicinal purposes. Twigs have been used for arrows or tied together for use as a broom. A rinse made from the steeped leaves is used as a hair rinse.
- Life Cycle:
- Perennial
- Recommended Propagation Strategy:
- Seed
- Stem Cutting
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- Southwestern United States
- Distribution:
- Arizona, California, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah.
- Wildlife Value:
- Attracts pollinators. Shrub provides cover for wildlife and nesting material. Important forage plant.
- Dimensions:
- Height: 2 ft. 0 in. - 6 ft. 0 in.
- Width: 4 ft. 0 in. - 6 ft. 0 in.
-
-
Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Shrub
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Semi-evergreen
- Habit/Form:
- Clumping
- Erect
- Multi-stemmed
- Rounded
- Growth Rate:
- Medium
- Texture:
- Medium
-
-
Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Soil Texture:
- Clay
- Loam (Silt)
- Sand
- Shallow Rocky
- Soil pH:
- Acid (<6.0)
- Alkaline (>8.0)
- Neutral (6.0-8.0)
- Soil Drainage:
- Good Drainage
- Moist
- Occasionally Dry
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b
-
-
Fruit:
- Fruit Color:
- Pink
- White
- Fruit Value To Gardener:
- Showy
- Display/Harvest Time:
- Fall
- Fruit Type:
- Achene
- Aggregate
- Fruit Length:
- < 1 inch
- Fruit Description:
- Fruit heads borne at the tips of very dense, intertangled, twiggy, slender branches. The fruit has pink, feathery plumes and is persistent. The heads of fruits are very handsome, each carpel being terminated by a slender style 1 inch long, clothed with silky hairs, the whole forming a dense feathery mass.
-
-
Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- Gold/Yellow
- Pink
- White
- Flower Inflorescence:
- Raceme
- Solitary
- Flower Value To Gardener:
- Long Bloom Season
- Showy
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Fall
- Spring
- Summer
- Flower Shape:
- Saucer
- Flower Petals:
- 4-5 petals/rays
- Flower Size:
- 1-3 inches
- Flower Description:
- White flowers with yellow centers blossom from early spring to late fall. Flowers have five petals and a cluster of pinkish white feathery plumes in summer. Flowers are borne at the tips of very dense, intertangled, twiggy, slender branches. Flowers produced either singly or a few together on a raceme.
-
-
Leaves:
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Semi-evergreen
- Leaf Color:
- Blue
- Green
- Leaf Feel:
- Velvety
- Leaf Type:
- Simple
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Alternate
- Leaf Margin:
- Lobed
- Hairs Present:
- Yes
- Leaf Length:
- < 1 inch
- Leaf Width:
- < 1 inch
- Leaf Description:
- Alternate, simple blue-green leaves are 2/3 of an inch long and 1/3 of an inch wide with 3 to 7 rounded lobes. The leaf is green and hairy with pale scaled on the undersides. Leaves produced in clusters closely and alternately along the twigs and covered all over with pale down.
-
-
Bark:
- Bark Color:
- Light Gray
- White
- Bark Description:
- light gray or whitish peeling bark
-
-
Stem:
- Stem Color:
- Gray/Silver
- White
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
- Stem Surface:
- Hairy (pubescent)
- Stem Description:
- Grayish-white, pubescent branches. Much branched below, more thinly above.
-
-
Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Slope/Bank
- Vertical Spaces
- Landscape Theme:
- Drought Tolerant Garden
- Rock Garden
- Design Feature:
- Border
- Mass Planting
- Specimen
- Attracts:
- Bees
- Small Mammals
- Songbirds
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Drought
- Dry Soil
- Erosion
- Poor Soil
