Calliandra, a delicate plant

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Ornamental foliage and silky flowers in white, pink or red cover this Brazilian shrub from mid-spring to late summer, on a frame reaching 6 to 13 feet. Calliandra revels in heat and grows happily in a pot in full sun, but the air around it must stay moist: let it dry out and the leaves yellow and drop.

Native to tropical climates, this plant needs sun and moisture to develop well.

Planting, growing calliandra

Perform the planting indifferently in fall or spring.

• Choose a mostly sheltered spot, preferably endowed with a lot of light.

Calliandra presents high needs in terms of moisture since it comes from tropical climates. To compensate the dryness of the air, you can rest the pot on a bed of gravel or clay pebbles that are doused with water: evaporation will rise and weave through the leaves.

• Follow our advice on planting shrubs

• Most calliandras, such as the tender Calliandra haematocephala, are best planted outdoors only in frost-free areas and grown in containers elsewhere for winter shelter, though some species tolerate light frost.
• For most garden trees, shrubs, and vegetables, water in generously at planting and mulch the base to conserve soil moisture, though drought-adapted plants such as succulents and cacti need far less water.
• For plants that need good drainage, such as lavender or Mediterranean herbs, improve heavy clay with grit and plant on a slight mound, since their roots can rot in waterlogged ground.
• Check the mature height and spread listed for your chosen shrub, then give it that much room, siting it away from walls and paths where it would otherwise need constant cutting back.

Pruning and caring for calliandra

At the end of winter, before the flowering, prune to balance the shrub out delicately.

In spring and summer

Watering is required frequently in summer, especially if the weather is warm.

If set indoors behind a window, avoid direct impact on the plant of the sun’s rays during the warmest hours of the day, mist water around the leaves if need be, with soft water.

In fall and winter

Slowly reduce the amount of water you provide in fall, matching the waning days and temperatures.

Avoid heat sources such as radiators.

Propagating Calliandra

Calliandra propagation comes in handy, since these shrubs don’t have a very long lifespan. Ten-fifteen years is considered honorable. You can multiply Calliandra through seed sprouting and cuttings to replace dying specimens.

How to grow calliandra from seed

Calliandra seeds form in pods that look like snow peas. Wait for the pod to have matured on the plant to the point that it pops open.

• It helps to wrap the pods in a pouch or cloth to catch the seeds, but if you’ve got a large number of plants it usually isn’t a problem because they fruit prolifically.
• Soak the seeds in warm water (same temperature you’d get a baby’s bottle) for a day.
• Plant the seeds in soil mix and keep it moist but not too wet to avoid mold.
• Sprouting should occur after 10-20 days.

Always prefer seeds from the healthiest plant and try to select a parent that grows nearby. Indeed, seeds from thriving local plants will be best suited to growing in similar environments within a same garden or neighborhood.

How to grow calliandra from cuttings

Cuttings is the other easy way to propagate your Calliandra.

• Depending on the size of the plant, snip stems off that are either a foot (30 cm) or a yard (one meter) in length. Longer stems have lower success rates but when they grow they’ll do so faster.
• Remove 9 out of 10 pairs of leaves, leaving only the few topmost pairs. Break them off gently.
• Either set them in water (in a glass or a cut gallon jug for the larger ones) and change water every three days
• Or set them directly in a pot of well-draining soil mix where they’ll take root. Use rooting hormone if available.
• Once rooted, transplant to final pot or to the garden.

Cuttings start rooting within about two weeks and are ready for transplant within a month and a half. Before planting, reduce risk of transplant shock by setting the pot in place for a week before digging and planting.

Seed or cuttings: choosing how to propagate calliandra

Since calliandra is a short-lived shrub, it pays to raise replacements in advance. Here are the three routes described above, and how long each takes.

Whichever route you take, set the pot in place for a week before planting out to reduce transplant shock.

Calliandra problems, diseases and pests

C

alliandra is not used to dry air, so lack of moisture can lead to:

• yellow leaves and leaf drop

An exception to this is Calliandra eriophylla, commonly called the Fairy duster. It copes well with dry air, but it still needs watering at least every 5-8 days.

Pests are the usual culprits:

• aphids, whitefly, and scale insects

• Turn a few leaves over at each watering: aphids and whitefly gather on the undersides.
• Scale insects show up as small, immobile brown or waxy bumps along the stems and leaf ribs, and can be wiped off with a cloth dipped in soapy water.
• Sticky leaves coated in a dark sooty film are a sign of sap-sucking insects above, as the mould grows on the honeydew they drop.
• Keep the gravel in the humidity tray moist but set the pot above the waterline, never in it, since waterlogged roots can also yellow foliage rather than relieving dry-air stress.

Learn more about Calliandra

This elegant shrub native to Brazil bears interesting and unique flowers over the summer.

Since it is well suited to heat, it grows in pots well, even in the open sun.

When grown in a pot, you can bring it indoors over the winter in a cool spot where frost doesn’t creep in.

Read also about Calliandra:

• Advice on how to prune shrubs
• Ideas of flowered shrubs for a hedge
• Hedges, great barriers against diseases
• Shrubs that flower in the summer