Not only does Coleonema pulchellum shower your garden with delicate colour, it’s also a natural potpourri. Its slender branches and aromatic, needle-like leaves have deodorising properties, making them useful for repelling mosquitoes and ants or removing odours from your hands. The leaves can even be stripped off the stems and used to flavour sweet or savoury dishes.
Commonly known as false buchu, the white confetti bush grows to 1,5 x 1 m. It thrives in well-drained soil with a mulch of compost and bark, and it certainly prefers a sunny position. Mind you, it tolerates light shade too.
Coleonema is one of the prettiest indigenous shrubs and starts showcasing its extravagant display of star-shaped flowers from about August. As can be expected, it’s a lure for insects and butterflies.
Although the confetti bush is water-wise, it does need additional watering during dry summer months. Plant groups in rockeries, shrubberies and among swathes of grasses.
Coleonema responds well to heavy pruning and can be shaped into those gorgeous cloud-like forms seen in oriental gardens. Or just clip it into neat balls and cubes. It’s also terrific for both formal and informal hedges. After pruning, apply a fresh mulch layer and slow-release organic fertiliser to keep it thriving.
Ref: thegardener.co.za; Photo: heavenandearthplants.co.za
