Hardly Drab...the Duranta.
The Duranta is a sprawling large shrub to around 3 or 4 metres with cane-like growth, and is fast growing. It has many common names, but we'll just call it Duranta. The flowers are on short stems, and are prolific if the plant is in full sun, and gets the right amount of water and fertilizer. The flowers are variations of mainly Blue colour. The leaves and berries are poisonous to humans, but a lot of birds like to eat them, Hummingbirds included, as well as butterflies. It is easily propagated by cuttings, and has a reputation for being invasive in some countries. Grow this plant in all but the coldest areas. The photos are from a local Sydney area.
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Duranta, usually a large, fast-growing, multi-stemmed shrub, has several common names and over 17 varieties worldwide.
The branches are often droopy and vinelike, and the stems may have sharp spines. Other common names are Pigeon-berry and Honey drops.
Typically, there are full clusters of fragrant pale-blue lavenders, purple or even white flowers on the ends of the stems, reminding the viewer of wisteria.
Butterflies and hummingbirds love them. Flowers are quickly followed by bunches of golden-orange berries, popular with birds.
Duranta loves full sun most, but tolerates part sun, or part shade.
source
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The Duranta bush (Duranta erecta) — also known as pigeon berry, sky flower and golden dewdrop — is an easy-to-grow exotic plant native to tropical zones in the U.S. It lives for about 15 years, likes annual pruning of its dead branches and makes a good companion for impatiens.
The Duranta bush grows as an evergreen, rounded shrub or small tree in U.S. In colder climates, gardeners plant it as an annual in the garden or in containers. The Duranta bush grows quickly up to 15 feet high and wide as a shrub, but it tops out at about 5 feet tall when planted as an annual.
The Duranta bush’s fragrant lavender, purple or white flowers attract butterflies and hummingbirds to your landscape. The small flowers dangle from thorny, weeping branches with light gray bark among glossy, green, oval-shaped leaves.
The ideal spot for a Duranta bush is a moist place with full sun. This shrub attains its optimum size in any kind of well-drained soil with an acidic, neutral or slightly alkaline pH, as long as it’s rich in organic matter.
The Duranta bush resists disease but is susceptible to a variety of bugs, including scale insects, mealy bugs and nematodes. A scale insect infestation isn’t usually lethal, and you can control their populations by spraying the entire plant with horticultural oil in the dormant season.
** The leaves and berries of the duranta bush are poisonous**
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Hi dear @ctrl-alt-nwo good to see you again with another amazing plant called the Duranta.
The genus, Duranata, honors an Italian botanist and papal physician named Castore Durantes. Durantes are subtropical plants and are grown as perennial shrubs in the southern-most parts of America.
They produce graceful, dropping branches, a few thorns, bright green leaves and numerous small blue, voilet, or white flowers which bloom best in full sun throughout the year followed by golden fruits.
Duranta does well in either acidic or alkaline soils and is somewhat resistant to disease and insect attack. It can be propagated by sowing the seed in the spring or from greenwood cuttings.
Duranta attracts birds which feed on the fruits and has one of the few flowers that attract both hummingbirds and butterflies. Many Duranta attarct bees also.
The berry is said to be toxic so keep away from pets and children.
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Duranta:
This rapidly growing shrub can get 10 to 15 feet tall and over 5 feet wide. It’s listed as hardy to only zone 9, so here in Central Texas, it dies to the ground in winter in most gardens.
Duranta is evergreen, hardly even skipping a bit in the coldest of winters.If Duranta dies to the ground in winter in your garden, simply prune it back to about 3 inches from the ground and it will reemerge from the roots in spring.
There are several cultivars of Duranta, but my favorite is the purple-flowering one. It flowers from early spring all the way through fall and doesn’t bat an eyelash at heat or the lack of rainfall.
If you want to attract native birds to your landscape, they’ll love the fruit of the white-flowering cultivar. Duranta will perform best in full sun, but can take light shade.
If you have blackberries and have harvested all of the fruit, tip-prune the canes back to about 4 feet to promote branching, and thus a heavier fruit crop next season.
@ctrl-alt-nwo, That would be better description indeed planting post. I'm most knowledge via your article and I add some content via internet. Winter hardy to USDA Zones 10-11 where plants are grown in moist, fertile, well-drained soils in full sun. Tolerates light shade, but best flowering is in full sun. Tolerates wide range of soils. Grow as an annual shrub, in containers or as a houseplant in the St. Louis area. Container plants must be brought inside in fall before first frost for overwintering in a bright sun room.
Duranta erecta, commonly called golden dewdrop, pigeon berry or sky flower, is native from Florida to Brazil and in the West Indies. It is a spreading, sometimes weeping, evergreen shrub or small tree that grows to 15-18’ tall in its native habitat. In St. Louis it is typically grown as a 2-4’ tall annual shrub or in containers that must be overwintered indoors. Sharp axillary thorns are usually present on stems of mature plants, but are usually absent on young plants. Features drooping axillary and terminal racemes of light blue to violet flowers which bloom summer to fall. Flowers give way in fall to drooping clusters of yellow-orange drupes (golden dewberries as it were). Fruit often does not appear on plants grown in the St. Louis area. Oval rounded light green leaves (to 2” long).
Source: http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=a507
Native to tropical areas of the Americas, Duranta (Duranta erecta) or pigeon berry is a frost-tender perennial. This 2- to 15-foot tall flowering shrub is well suited for border areas and living hedges. Clumps of blue, white or lavender colored flowers bloom throughout the growing season. The flowers provide visual interest year-round and attract butterflies and hummingbirds to the garden. Duranta is hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 10 through 11. In colder areas, grow it as an annual. Plant in full sun for best growth and development. Once planted, this flowering shrub requires only minimal maintenance.
Prune Duranta in late winter or early spring. Use a pair of sharp shears to remove any shoots that grow beyond the desired growing zone. Make cut horizontally across the branches. Wear gloves and protective eyewear to protect against the sharp thorns.