10 Favourite Diascia Varieties With Mat-Forming, Bushy And Upright Habits
Reviewed By ROY NICOL
Roy is a Professional Gardener and Horticultural Consultant, specialising in large garden year-round maintenance and garden development. He is an RHS Master of Horticulture and uses his research in the application of no-dig methods in ornamental garden settings. Roy has been a Professional Gardener for more than six years and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Horticulture, Professional Gardener's Guild and Association of Professional Landscapers (Professional Gardener).
IN THIS GUIDE
Diascia is a genus of approximately 63 species which originate in South Africa.1Diascia. (n.d.). Plants of the World Online | Kew Science. Retrieved June 5, 2023, from https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:37587-1
They are of mat-forming, bushy and upright habit – depending on the type and variety – and often grown as container plants here in the UK.
All the species plants and varieties I’ve featured below have a hardiness rating of H3 except where noted, meaning they’ll likely need some form of protection heading into Winter (depending on how far north you live).
1) D. personata
A H4 hardy perennial variety with candy pink flowers.
This variety is of a bushy habit and can grow up to 1m in height.
This is one of the few diascias that will do well if sited in partial shade in the United Kingdom.
2) D. rigescens
This variety is classified as a mat-forming perennial type but it may be more apt to view this species as a bushy type or even an upright type.
It reaches over 40cm and bears coral-pink flowers on erect stalks.
It has been awarded the RHS Award of Garden Merit.
3) D. ‘Diamond White Blush’
‘Diamond White Bush’ is of a mat-forming habit, rising only to about 20cm but with a spread of about 30cm.
This long-blooming perennial produces a profusion of flowers from end-spring to early autumn.
These flowers are white with a delicate apricot ‘blush’ in the throat.
4) D. ‘Rupert Lambert’
‘Rupert Lamber’ is a perennial with a mat-forming habit that produces rich shades of pink flowers throughout summer and autumn.
It has been awarded the RHS Award of Garden Merit.
5) D. barberae ‘Blackthorn Apricot’
This variety is a mat-forming perennial type yet bears flowers on upright stalks that rises to only 25cm but has a much greater spread.
Blooming during summer and for a good portion of autumn, different plants produce flowers of varying shades ranging from pale to warm hues of pink and apricot.
It is one of the hardy varieties, rated as H4 and it has received the RHS Award of Garden Merit.
6) D. ‘Twinkle’
‘Twinkle’ is a proper mat-forming, trailing perennial type that rises to only 20cm but has a spread of twice as much.
It blooms from the beginning of summer into autumn with magenta-pink flowers.
It has been awarded the RHS Award of Garden Merit.
7) D. ‘Hopleys’
This variety is an upright perennial type and has an especially long flowering season that starts in spring and continues into autumn.
Attaining heights of up to 1m with dusky pink flowers that have darker pink centres, these are proper bedding plants in their own right and are ideal for borders.
Another attractive characteristic is that this variety is hardy to H4.
8) D. ‘Lilac Belle’
Among the lowest, ground-hugging perennial type that rises to only 15cm and is perfect to deploy as groundcover, ‘Lilac Belle’ boasts a relatively unusual floral colour varying from lilac to light purple.
It is a recipient of the RHS Award of Garden Merit.
9) D. ‘Pink Bicolour’
This is one of the newer annual varieties, with an upright habit, growing to about 30cm high.
It flowers all through summer and produces a profusion of blooms that are various shades of pink.
10) D. ‘Sundiascia Eternal Flames’
‘Sundiascia Eternal Flames’ is another one of the newer perennial varieties.
It has a long flowering season lasting from the beginning of summer deep into autumn – where it bears a profusion of blooms on erect stalks, in shades of candy pink through coral and bright orange.
It is H4 hardy.
