A small Sonoran Desert native with fine, ferny leaves and puffs of pink stamens that look like tiny powder puffs. It blooms when little else does, draws hummingbirds and gets by on very little water.
Living with it in the Phoenix Valley
Watering
Follow the shrub schedule in our Landscape Care guide while it establishes. After that, this is a true desert native and should be kept lean. An occasional summer soak keeps it leafier, but it can drop leaves in drought and recover.
Pruning
Prune lightly in spring after the main bloom, mostly to remove dead wood. Heavy pruning reduces flowering, and its loose, airy shape looks best left natural.
Wildlife
Hummingbirds and butterflies visit the flowers, and birds pick at the seeds.
How our designers use it
Under desert trees
It sits comfortably beneath palo verde, ironwood and mesquite, where it adds color without competing.
Natural and rock gardens
Its small size and fine texture suit boulder plantings, slopes and native areas.
Low informal borders
A loose row of them makes a soft, flowering edge along walks and patios.
Good to know
Around the pool
No thorns and light litter, though the seed pods snap open and toss seeds a few feet. It works near patios but is best kept back from the water’s edge.
