Deciduous shrubSmall spaceFoundation plantingSpecimenDrought tolerantSlopesPollinatorsNative

Apache Plume

Fallugia paradoxa

A Southwestern native shrub with white, rose-like flowers from late spring into fall, followed by feathery pink seed plumes. It's very drought tolerant, and its deep roots make it a natural for holding dry slopes. In ideal conditions it can self-seed aggressively; cut the oldest stems to the ground to renew it.

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Apache Plume: flowers — Photo: Mike Tungate from Albuquerque, United States, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Mature size: 4 × 5 ft; 1.2 × 1.5 m, tall × wide
Hardiness: Zones 6a–10b; USDA
Sun: Full sun
Water: Dry
Blooms: May–Sep

Apache Plume at its mature size

A mature Apache Plume grows 2 to 6 feet tall and 4 to 6 feet wide.

Drawn to scale beside a 5 ft 9 in person. With VeraScape, you see it at this size in your own yard.

Typical mature size, unpruned. Sources: NC State Extension, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, USDA PLANTS.

Through the year

What Apache Plume looks like month by month in a typical zone 6–7 garden.

Dormant · Oct–Apr

Twiggy pale stems with a few small leaves.

In flower · May–Sep

White flowers and feathery pink seed plumes.

Photos

Apache Plume: detail — Detail · Alex Abair, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Growing Apache Plume

Grows well in: The desert Southwest and the Plains and Mountain West.
Growth rate: Medium
Good for: Small space, foundation planting, specimen, drought tolerant, slopes, and pollinators
Leaves: Drops its leaves in winter
Native to: Southwestern United States and Northern Mexico

Spacing

VeraScape spaces plants so their grown canopies just touch. For Apache Plume, that’s about 5 ft apart, center to center.

Place a row in your own yard and VeraScape spaces them at their mature width, so you can see whether they’ll crowd the walk.