Linaria purpurea Peachy

The Linaria Peachy is a recent variety of toadflax, as beautiful as it is unusual. This tall perennial is appreciated for the delicacy and elegance of its flowering and is a water-saving plant, perfect for embellishing a natural garden that is little or not watered. In summer, over a long period, it produces slender and flexible spikes where masses of tiny flowers similar to snapdragons bloom. In 'Peachy', these little 'wolf's mouths' are beautifully coloured in salmon, pink, and yellow, forming a colourful cloud that has a stunning effect in flower beds and bushes.

The Linaria Peachy belongs to the Scrophulariaceae family. It is a cousin of snapdragons, but it is taller and more elegant. It is a recent horticultural hybrid. Its first parent is Linaria purpurea, with mauve-pink flowers, naturalized in many regions, with origins that can be traced back to southern Europe, likely Italy. Its other parent is called Linaria dalmatica, with yellow-orange flowers, native to western Asia and southeastern Europe. Linarias are mostly native to the Mediterranean region.

'Peachy' is a deciduous perennial, with an upright clump habit, reaching 80 cm (32in) to 1 m (3ft) in height and 30 cm (12in) in diameter. The flowering period extends from June to September. In hot and dry climates, it fades in August and resumes in September-October. The small flowers measure 2 cm (1in) in length and are composed of two lips ending in a curved spur, revealing a bearded throat. They are grouped in dense spikes and display different shades of pale pink, purple-pink, light salmon pink, and tender yellow, a rare colour combination that harmonizes the very different flowering of its two parents. The foliage, deciduous, adorns the thin stems. The leaves are fine, linear, lanceolate, grayish-green, and measure 2 to 6 cm (1 to 2in) in length. This beautiful hybrid is a sterile plant that does not produce seeds and only lives for a few years in the garden.

The Peachy toadflax brings poetry and cheerfulness wherever it thrives, which is in full sun and well-drained, light soil. It is so undemanding that it flourishes in the poorest soils. It can be used abundantly in large flower beds, rockeries, and large dry slopes. In dry and wild areas of the garden, it can accompany, for example, blue Baptisia, Euphorbia polychroma, penstemons, horned poppy, tall hybrid mulleins like 'Pink Domino', or perennial flax. It is also perfect in sunny beds of perennials like tall asters, Sedum spectabile, and grasses, and it pairs well with bush roses and small shrubs that thrive in dry soil (Ceratostigma, lavender, teucriums, cistus).

Etymology: the species name 'Linaria' comes from LINUM, which means flax, due to the shape of the leaves, which resemble those of flax.