Bupleurum longifolium Bronze Beauty

Bupleurum longifolium 'Bronze Beauty' is a rare umbelliferous plant, with upright stems carrying bright green leaves with bronze hues. In summer, it produces small flat umbels in acidic green-yellow, which gradually turn into warm copper-red tones over the weeks. It will thrive in a dry and chalky wild garden, in well-drained soil and in full sun. It will also do well in a rockery, and in container gardening, and it is also a popular plant for dried bouquets.

The long-leaved Bupleurum is a plant belonging to the Apiaceae family, formerly known as Umbelliferae due to their inflorescences in umbels. This family includes many vegetable plants such as carrots, fennel, celery, parsnip... but also many ornamental plants such as angelica, chervil, and Anthriscus. In nature, it appreciates woods, meadows, and rocky areas in the mountains.  The plant's angular stems are hollow and upright, and bear long leaves of a beautiful bright green colour with only one prominent vein in the middle. The upper leaves are called 'perfoliate', meaning the stem appears to pass through the leaf. Between June and August, the plant produces a cloud of small flattened melliferous umbels which are yellow-green, gradually turning dark red, reminiscent of the inflorescences of Astrantia, another plant of the same family.

'Bronze Beauty' is a compact variety, reaching about 60 cm (24in) in height and 40 cm (16in) in width. In this form, the involucres (the crown of small pointed leaves under the flowers) take on beautiful coppery hues in late summer, and the upper leaves take on bronze-violet hues, providing a subtle changes to this plant over time.

Bupleurum 'Bronze Beauty' appreciates well-drained, preferably limestone and dry soils: it dislikes winter humidity, and excessive water at its base can cause rotting.  It is an ideal candidate for slightly wild natural gardens, large warm and sunny rockeries, rocky slopes or container gardening. If the conditions are right, the plant can self-seed, thus dispersing its autumnal brilliance here and there in dry beds. Its sturdy stems also make good cut flowers or dried bouquets. It will be in good company with neighbours such as Euphorbia polychroma 'Bonfire', Agastache Kudos Gold, Blue Cupidone, Aubrietas as groundcover, or the grasses Stipa pulcherrima and Bouteloua gracilis.