Rostrinucula dependens

Rostrinucula dependens is the green-sheep of the salvia family, little-known outside its native haunts from Shaanxi, China and south to Yunnan. While rostrinucula will never win a beauty contest, it is well in the running for most unusual. The flaking brown bark adorns an otherwise obscure 4' tall die-back shrub. It remains obscure until late summer, when the long pendent flower racemes emerge from the branch tips, giving the overall effect of a miniature cascading pink waterfall. The tiny pink flowers of Rostrinucula dependens open each day as the floral display travels slowly down the long flower spike, finally ending in mid-October. One of the truly great WHATZAT plants! In warmer climates, the wood may remain and the plant may reach 5-6' tall. We have reports of this surviving protected areas in Connecticut.