Digging deeperPlant Library

Other Names:  Bar Room Plant

Description:

This variety is as tough as its name implies; compact, dark green foliage is dramatically spotted in white; makes an excellent deep shade groundcover or container accent; a very tolerant plant that is easy to grow and maintain; a perfect house plant

Ornamental Features

Milky Way Speckled Cast Iron Plant's attractive sword-like leaves remain dark green in color with distinctive white spots throughout the year on a plant with an upright spreading habit of growth.

Landscape Attributes

Milky Way Speckled Cast Iron Plant is a dense herbaceous annual with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its wonderfully bold, coarse texture can be very effective in a balanced garden composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and should not require much pruning, except when necessary, such as to remove dieback. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Milky Way Speckled Cast Iron Plant is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Mass Planting
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Milky Way Speckled Cast Iron Plant will grow to be about 18 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 18 inches. Its foliage tends to remain dense right to the ground, not requiring facer plants in front. Although it's not a true annual, this plant can be expected to behave as an annual in our climate if left outdoors over the winter, usually needing replacement the following year. As such, gardeners should take into consideration that it will perform differently than it would in its native habitat.

This plant does best in partial shade to shade. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America. It can be propagated by division; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.

Milky Way Speckled Cast Iron Plant is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. It is often used as a 'filler' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, providing a canvas of foliage against which the larger thriller plants stand out. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.