Diosma hirsuta Sunset Gold

Diosma hirsuta Sunset Gold is a particularly compact variety of Diosma, with evergreen and feathery foliage of a very bright golden green, and an abundant and endless white flowering with just a hint of pink. Its foliage, as delicate as that of heather, releases a lemony scent when crushed. This delightful South African undershrub is well adapted to dry and poor soils, but not very hardy. It can only be grown outdoors in mild coastal climates. In most regions, it will be planted in a pot or container to decorate the terrace or balcony during the summer and will spend the winter sheltered from the cold. 

Diosma hirsuta is a woody-based shrub plant from the Rutaceae family, just like lemon trees. It is native to the Cape region in South Africa, particularly the valleys and slopes of the Cederberg on sandy soil. It should not be confused with Coleonema, a very similar genus that produces true shrubs exceeding 1.50m (4 ft 11 in) in height. The diosma has given rise to some beautiful cultivars with flowers ranging from white to red.

'Sunset Gold' is a recent cultivar awarded by the Société Nationale d'Horticulture de France (SNHF) in St. Jean de Beauregard. It forms a miniature bush, or large cushion, with a more modest size than the 'Pink Fountain' cultivar. Its habit is very bushy, dense and slightly spreading. It reaches about 40 cm (15.7 in) in height and 50 cm (19.7 in) in width, with slow growth. Its flexible and brown stems bear golden foliage on young shoots, turning anise green over time. The very fine leaves, 7 to 10mm (0.3 to 0.4 in) long, are hairy and aromatic. They have no petioles and are arranged alternately and upright. The long flowering takes place from February-March to June-July, depending on the climate, lasting about 4 months. The star-shaped, fragrant and nectar-rich flowers do not exceed 7 mm (0.3 in) in diameter, but they are countless. Each one is composed of 5 petals and 5 stamens and is coloured a pale pinkish white. They often turn a delicate pink at the end of the season. They are either solitary or grouped in terminal clusters and are followed by the formation of green, aromatic fruits containing 5 small black seeds.

Diosma Sunset Gold is a very beautiful plant for poor and dry soils, useful for structuring the decor of a seaside garden, in a large rockery or a well-drained bed. It will only thrive in the ground in regions where winter temperatures do not drop below -5°C (23 °F). It can be associated with plants from scrub vegetation such as cistus, rosemary, lavender, thyme, or even teucrium in mild climates. It can also be planted in a small evergreen hedge, accompanied by a shrubby ceanothus ('Italian Skyes', 'Concha', 'Puget Blue', 'Skylark'...), Leptospermum, or even red-flowering callistemons (Callistemon citrinus 'Splendens') or other South African plants with exotic charm. In most regions, it will make a beautiful orangery or conservatory plant where it will form a fragrant and decorative group with an orange tree, a Boronia heterophylla or a mimosa. 

Diosma hirsuta is also called the fisherman's plant, because fishermen used to rub their hands in its lemon-scented foliage to eliminate the smell of fish.