Lomatia tinctoria, a beautiful shrub for pot and garden

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Lomatia tinctoria is a magnificent evergreen shrub that blooms in summer.

List of Lomatia tinctoria facts

Name – Lomatia tinctoria
Family – Proteaceae
Type – evergreen shrub

Height – 6 ½ feet (2 meters)
Exposure – full sun

Soil: well-drained, acidic     –      Foliage: evergreen      –       Flowering: summer

An easy plant to care for, here are the tips for planting guitar plant.

Planting Lomatia tinctoria

The planting of the Lomatia tinctoria is an important step that influences further development and abundant blooming of your shrub.

Lomatia tinctoria in the open

Lomatia tinctoria is a shrub that is easy to care for when outdoors, but soil quality and emplacement are important considerations.

• Plant preferably in spring.
• Lomatia tinctoria loves acidic soil and even sandy soil.
• Choose a mostly sunny emplacement.

Lomatia tinctoria in a pot

Lomatia tinctoria is particularly well suited to growing in pots.

• Select a large-sized pot right from the start, that will spare you an early repotting and your lomatia tinctoria will feel right at home.
• Prepare a mix of heath soil and planting soil mix.
• The pot must have a hole at the bottom, and a bed of clay beads or gravel at the bottom of the pot should ensure proper drainage.

Pruning and caring for Lomatia tinctoria

Pruning isn’t really needed but certain good practices should help increase the growth of your lomatia tinctoria.

After the blooming, it’s useful to remove wilted flowers.

Remove dead wood regularly and clear the inside branches to let light penetrate to the center.

• This will result in your Lomatia tinctoria keeping a nice, tight shape.

Watering Lomatia tinctoria

In pots, it’s important to water as soon as the soil is dry, without flooding the pot. During the growth phase, regularly add organic fertilizer designed for flower shrubs.

If your tree is growing outside in the ground, water in case of prolonged dry spells or heat waves.

Diseases often found on a Lomatia tinctoria

Very hardy, Lomatia tinctoria is a shrub that resists diseases well.

If the leaves start turning black, it’s often linked to excess watering. Reduce watering frequency and check that the soil drains well enough.

Learn more about Lomatia tinctoria

Lomatia tinctoria is a very easy shrub to care for. It is hardy to the cold down to 14°F (-10°C), or even 10°F (-12°C) and it blooms abundantly in summer.

Native to South Africa, its bearing naturally forms a very interesting round silhouette. The blooming, white in color, is simply astounding and the very cute leaves make for a nice evergreen backdrop.

The seeds of Lomatia tinctoria explain the plant’s name:

• Lomatia refers to ancient latin, “loma” which means “winged”.
• tinctoria shows that the crushed seeds were used to dye cloth.

Its individual flowers start out shaped like a guitar, which gave them their common name: Guitar plant. Some say it’s the fruit that looks like a guitar.