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Names: |
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| Family | Nyctaginaceae. |
| Genus & Species | Abronia fragrans |
| AKA | Abronia speciosa. |
| Common Names | Sweet sand verbena. Heart's delight. Snowball sand verbena. Fragrant sand verbena. |
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| Size/Shape | A quick-growing plant with erect, branching stems. 1-2 ft. Stems often sprawl along the ground and then grow erect. Trailing stems. Long woody root that branches with many stems. |
| Leaves | Dark green, oval leaves. |
| Flowers | Snowball-like clusters of one inch, white flowers. Large spray of visually attractive flowers. The little trumpet flowers are clustered in a sphere and are sometimes tinged with a hint of pink. No petals, but the five sepals are petal like forming a long funnel form flower. |
| Blooming Season | Summer. Flowers the first year from seed. Spring and summer. June to August. Spring to fall. |
| Fragrance | Perfume in the evenings. Strongly scented of vanilla. Fabulously sweet smell. Has a lovely scent when it blooms during the evening. |
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| Propagation | Soak seeds in water for 6-8 hours. Too much soaking will kill the seed. Scarify seed with sandpaper. Seed - sow autumn or early spring very shallowly in pots of sandy soil. Germination can be very slow unless you peel off the outer skin and pre-soak the seed for 24 hours in warm water. The seed usually germinates in 1 - 2 months at 15°c. Seedlings are prone to damp off and so should be kept well-ventilated. Cuttings in spring, rooted in sand. Seed in winter. Abronia fragrans has a better germination rate in the spring following winter rains or snowmelt. |
| Soil | Deep and sandy. Thrives in sandy soils. Loose sand. A light well-drained sandy soil. Poor soil. Sand dunes. |
| Water | Semi-desert. Rarely rained on. Dry. |
| Food | Poor soil. |
| Light | Full sun. |
| Climate | South western U.S.A. Perennial often grown as an annual. Mexico. Hardy to zone 8. |
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| Source to Buy | Chilterns seeds. |
| http://tinyurl.com/bumbl | |
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