Diascia barberae Ruby Field

Diascia barberae 'Ruby Field' is a trailing sun-loving, perennial plant with a low habit.  Not very hardy, it prefers dry soil. It produces a profusion of flowers with double spurs, dark pink shaded with salmon from spring until the first frost, above its small pale green heart-shaped leaves. Well known for its use in hanging baskets and containers, it is very attractive in rock gardens, low borders, or casually trailing over walls.

Diascia barberae 'Ruby Field' belongs to the family of Scrophulariaceae. It is a cultivar derived from Diascia barberae, native to southern Africa, Lesotho and KwaZulu-Natal. This plant has a trailing habit, forming a small bush about 30 cm (12in) in all directions. The flowers appear in spring, and continue throughout summer and autumn until the first frost. It produces fairly large clusters of flowers for the genus, deep pink, with a broad lower lip, the throat of which is maculate and dotted with dark red. The diameter of the flowers does not exceed 1.5 cm (1in). These flowers somewhat resemble snapdragons. The foliage, deciduous to semi-evergreen depending on the climate, is composed of small heart-shaped leaves, 2 cm (1in) long, pale to medium green.

Diascia 'Ruby Field' can be planted in the ground and in pots, alone or mixed with other low-growing species such as lithodora, silver baskets, and aubrietas. Given its bushy habit, both upright and trailing, it will look good in borders, flower beds, rock gardens, planters, or hanging baskets, in the crevices of walls and paving and as groundcover.

Perennials from South Africa, very floriferous, but not always very hardy. We have tested many of them with varying degrees of success: some very vigorous and long-lived, others disappearing after the first winter. It's difficult to sort them out, so we offer those that have performed the best.