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El Nino Desert Orchid Chitalpa  

Flower Season
  • Summer
Mature Size
8' 6'
Height: 5' - 8'
Spread: 4' - 6'
  • Details

    Features

    This plant is practically a unicorn. It’s a hybrid of two incredible North American natives - desert willow and catalpa. This resulted in absolutely lovely flowers that somehow look both like orchids and snapdragons, but are way easier to care for than either of those plants. You’ll get to enjoy these sweetly scented blooms starting in late spring or early summer, depending on where you live, and then sporadically throughout the summer.

    Fragrant Flower
    Resists: 
    Deer

    Characteristics

    Plant Type: 
    Shrub
    Shrub Type: 
    Deciduous
    Height Category: 
    Medium
    Garden Height: 
    60 - 96 Inches
    Spacing: 
    48 - 72 Inches
    Spread: 
    48 - 72 Inches
    Flower Colors: 
    Purple
    Foliage Colors: 
    Green
    Foliage Shade: 
    Light green
    Habit: 
    Mounded
    Container Role: 
    Thriller

    Plant Needs

    Light Requirement: 
    Part Sun to Sun
    Light Requirement: 
    Sun

    The optimum amount of sun or shade each plant needs to thrive: Full Sun (6+ hours), Part Sun (4-6 hours), Full Shade (up to 4 hours).

    Maintenance Category: 
    Easy
    Blooms On: 
    New Wood
    Blooms On: 
    Old Wood
    Bloom Time: 
    Summer
    Hardiness Zones: 
    6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b
    Water Category: 
    Average
    Needs Good Drainage
    Soil Fertility Requirement: 
    Average Soil
    Uses: 
    Border Plant
    Uses: 
    Container
    Uses: 
    Landscape
    Uses: 
    Mass Planting
    Uses Notes: 

    Adds fragrance to any place it is planted.

    Maintenance Notes: 

    Prune to shape in early spring, just as the new growth is beginning to emerge.

    El Nino Chitalpa   'NCXC1' USPPAF
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