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Lobostemon montanus
Also called Turquoise Bush Bugloss
Lobostemon montanus, the turquoise bush bugloss, mountain lobostemon or agtdaegeneesbos, is a South African species belonging to the forget-me-not family.
Lobostemon montanus is relatively easy to grow in most gardens. It requires well-drained soils in a sunny position and does particularly well in rockeries and on embankments. It is a suitable plant for a coastal garden as the thick, hairy leaves protect it from the salt-laden wind. These thick, leathery leaves also make it highly drought resistant. It is, however, not cold tolerant and will need to be protected from frost.
It can be grown from cuttings or from seeds. Cuttings from the tips of branches or thin side shoots root taken in spring or autumn well provided that they are not kept too wet. They should root after about two or three months if placed in a sandy bed that receives the cooler morning sun and are sprayed occasionally, whenever they look stressed. Plants grow from fresh seeds collected from old flower heads that have turned a brownish-grey. Treat the seeds with hot water and thereafter with smoke to simulate fire in order to aid germination. Seeds should be sown in late summer or in spring.
This species is endemic to the Western Cape of South Africa, where it occurs in the Cape Floristic Region. It is found in mountainous areas between the Cape Peninsula and Onrus. It is currently most abundant in localities around False Bay. Populations are also known from Hermanus, the Atlantic seaboard of the Cape Peninsula, and from the lower northern slopes of Table Mountain, where the type specimen for this species was collected. It is fairly common on mountains, rocky outcrops and along the coast, where it occurs on sandstone soils. It is also frequently found in disturbed areas, for example, along roads.
Blue Rocket Bugloss · Beaut Healthbush · Brush Healthbush · Ash Healthbush · Autumn Healthbush · Largeflower Healthbush · Infanta Healthbush · Rooiberg Healthbush · Common Healthbush · Common Eightday Curebush · Lobostemon glaber · Grey Healthbush
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Lobostemon montanus by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
