Japanese name: ムギワラギク（麦藁菊） Scientific name:Xerochrysum bracteatum
[Overview]
An evergreen subshrub 30–90 cm tall, treated horticulturally as an annual.
The leaves are simple and alternate, lanceolate, 1.5–10 cm long and 0.5–2 cm wide, with entire margins.
A single flower head 3–8 cm across is borne at the end of each branch.
The ray flowers are not developed; instead, the dry, papery, glossy involucral bracts stand out like ray flowers.
The bracts come in many colors: yellow, orange, red, pink, white and cream.
The tubular flowers are yellow.
The fruit is an achene with a pappus.
[Uses]
Suitable for dried flowers.
[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed.
It is sensitive to heat and humidity and to cold.
In warm regions it is generally sown in autumn and protected from frost in winter to flower in spring, while in cold regions it is sown in spring to flower in autumn.
It prefers sunny, well-ventilated, well-drained soil.
Take care not to let it become too wet; for potted plants, water thoroughly when the soil surface dries, and for plants in the ground, rainfall is sufficient.
A small amount of fertilizer is enough, and if a base fertilizer is applied, none is particularly necessary.
Spider mites can occur.
