Now you would think that my Diascia 'Little Dancer', a half hardy perennial, would have perished over last winter, here, high on the Pennine Mountains of West Yorkshire and it should have. During the summer months I had placed this delicate looking plant, in a small pot, amid the other plants of my south-facing perennial border and I went and forgot all about it right through winter until early spring. There it remained through wind, snow, and freezing temperatures, exposed and totally unprotected. When I discovered that it had a little life left in it this spring, I repotted it into fresh compost and moved it to the sunniest spot on the patio at the top of my garden, sheltered by other pots. Now it's full of healthy little green leaves and flowers, and looks even healthier than the day I bought it.
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| Diascia 'Little Dancer' |
The label says: Diascia 'Little Dancer' has a compact habit with flowers that change from lilac to pink. It is superb in baskets, tubs, and pots on their own or mixed with other Diascias or patio plants. It prefers full sun, or partial shade, with free-draining soil or compost. It can survive winter in very well protected situations, especially if sheltered from hard frosts. Once flowering is over, remove old flowers heads to induce flowers. It achieves a height of 15cm (6") and spread of 30cm (12") [actually, mine is over 20cm in height and its spread is contained by the 20cm (8") pot.
What the label doesn't say is that the leaves are small, bright green, and very pretty.
