Feathery branches hung with clouds of pale pink flowers, above tiny scaly leaves much like a conifer’s: tamarisk (Tamarix) makes magnificent seaside hedges, quite unbothered by wind and sea spray. Give it full sun and light, well-drained soil — it abhors damp — and it asks for almost nothing thereafter.
| Name | Tamarix |
|---|---|
| Family | Tamaricaceae |
| Type | shrub |
| Height | 6 ½ to 16 feet (2 to 5 meters) |
| Climate | rather warm |
| Exposure | full sun |
| Soil | ordinary |
| Flowering | mid-spring to late spring and late summer to early autumn |
| Foliage | deciduous |
| Invasive in | Australia, USA, Canada |
It often grows wild and self-sows, but you can also plant it in your garden if you live where it is native to.
Tamarisk is planted preferably in fall but also until spring it if doesn’t freeze in your area.
This moderately hardy shrub resists freezing and cold down to more or less 23°F (-5°C).
Tamarisk requires abundant watering upon planting, and thick mulch that will reduce the risk of freezing for the soil and roots.
The speediest tamarisk propagation technique is to prepare tamarisk cuttings.
Once it’s well established, it will release thousands of seeds every year: a very prolific shrub!
Pruning is an important step for tamarisk because it guides growth for the shape to stay rather compact and it ensures better blooming.
Tamarisk requires very little work because it lives very comfortably on dry terrain, and doesn’t need any watering after the first year.
Tamarisk asks for very little, but the few tasks it does need are tied to a season. Here is when each one is done and what matters most.
| Task | When | Key point |
|---|---|---|
| Planting | Fall, or up to spring where it does not freeze | Water abundantly and mulch thickly to protect soil and roots |
| Cuttings | End of winter and spring, or early winter | Take green stems with no hard wood yet, 6 to 8 inches long |
| Pruning | After flowering, or end of summer | After the blooming for spring bloomers, end of summer for summer bloomers |
| Watering | First year only | Once established it copes with dry terrain and needs none |
Keep to this rhythm and the shrub stays compact and flowers well.
Tamarisks fall into two camps: the spring bloomers, which flower on last year’s wood, and the summer bloomers, which flower on the current season’s shoots and can be cut hard back. Here are the forms most often offered in garden centres and catalogues.
| Variety | Flower colour | Foliage | Best use |
|---|---|---|---|
| ‘Pink Cascade’ | Deep rose-pink | Fine, blue-green | Specimen or back of border; summer bloomer, sometimes on into autumn — prune at end of summer, cutting stems well back, as flowers form on shoots made the same year |
| ‘Rosea’ | Soft pink | Green, feathery | Dry, sandy ground |
| ‘Summer Glow’ | Bright pink | Blue-grey | Foliage contrast, mixed planting; summer bloomer, sometimes on into autumn — prune at end of summer, cutting stems well back, as flowers form on shoots made the same year |
| ‘Rubra’ | Deep purple-pink | Fine, grey-green | Late colour, coastal gardens; summer bloomer, sometimes on into autumn — prune at end of summer, cutting stems well back, as flowers form on shoots made the same year |
Tamarisk is known for its abundant pale pink blooming in spring or summer depending on the variety.
In Europe, it essentially grows in the South, but it also appears along the Atlantic coast, especially thanks to its high tolerance to sea spray.
Wind makes this shrub particularly attractive, as it sways and dances with the wispy branches… a show that one never tires to admire.
However, it is quite vulnerable to frost and suffers when temperatures drop below 23°F (-5°C).
The different varieties mostly flower in spring, with many pink or white colored flowers, but some cultivars also bloom in summer, sometimes even into fall.
Leaves are small, alternate and scaly, quite like those of certain conifers.
It has been said that the “manna” collected by the Hebrews as they crossed the desert (book of Exodus) comes from this shrub.
Lastly, note that tamarisk is a highly invasive shrub in some parts of the world.
Read also:
Tamarisks make for magnificent hedges, especially along the seaside where the wind plays with the shrub and enhances its beauty.
