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Mackaya bella
Also called River Bells, September Bells, Mackaya, Forest Bellbush
Forest bell bush is an evergreen shrub from southern Africa, growing to about 1.5 m, valued for its lilac, trumpet-shaped spring flowers. It grows best in a sheltered spot with neutral to alkaline soil and needs frost protection in cold climates.
Mackaya bella, called the forest bell bush, is a species of flowering plant in the acanthus family Acanthaceae, native to South Africa (Cape Provinces, KwaZulu-Natal, and Northern Provinces) and Eswatini.
The plant is not hardy below −6 °C (21 °F), therefore in colder temperate zones requires protection during the winter months. However, it may be placed outside in a sheltered spot in summer. It requires an alkaline or neutral soil.
It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Mackaya bella by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
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.
