Hardenbergia violacea Meema - Dwarf Australian Wisteria

The Hardenbergia violacea 'Meema' 'HB1' is a selection of dwarf Australian wisteria that forms a spectacular ground cover. This variety of violet Hardenbergia, with short and well-branched voluble stems, develops into a wide-spreading dome bush when it does not find support to climb. Its long and abundant spring flowering forms clusters of small mauve-purple flowers. The plant is adorned with long green leaves that persist if the winter is not too harsh. Outside of our mildest regions, it will be cultivated in a pot to protect it from frost, in a cold greenhouse or a conservatory.

The Hardenbergia violacea 'Meema' is a horticultural selection, probably Australian. The typical species is a voluble climbing plant of the Fabaceae family native to the east and southeast of Australia. It is present along the coast in the western part of New South Wales, the southeastern part of southern Queensland, and southern Tasmania. It can be found growing in wooded areas or heathlands. Not very hardy, this Australian sarsaparilla is, however, well adapted to dry summers.

The Australian Wisteria 'Meema' will quickly reach a height of 50 cm with a spread of 2 m without support. Used as a climber, it will rise to 2 m in height while remaining denser at the base than climbing selections of Hardenbergia. From February to June, its branches bear on thin quadrangular and quite brittle stems, short racemes of 20 to 30 small flowers (8 mm in diameter) gradually opening from the top to the bottom of the inflorescence. Their colour is violet, nuanced with pink and purple, and the upper petal, wider, has two pale yellow dots at the base. This nectariferous and melliferous flowering is followed by the formation of small dark brown flat pods containing 6 to 8 brown seeds that retain their seed viability for a long time, revealed by the passage of fire in their natural environment. The foliage comprises lanceolate, ovate leaves with 8 to 10-cm long cordate bases arranged alternately on the stems. Their colour is a medium green, crossed by a large vein of a lighter green. The foliage persists if the temperature does not drop below -5 °C.

It is not very hardy. The Hardenbergia violacea 'Meema' should be brought indoors in winter in most climates, and the plant does not like limestone very much. It is a somewhat delicate culture that is worth it. Coastal gardeners will use it as a ground cover or in a large border in front of a shrub mass composed of Evergreen Ceanothus, Leucophyllum,  Westringia, and other Callistemons. These shrubs will bring structure and height to the mass. You can also integrate the Hardenbergia violacea 'Meema' 'HB1' into a perennial massif such as Blue-flowered Agastaches, Shrubby Salvias, Nepetas, Gauras, and Penstemons.