Eriostemon myoporoides GOLD TOUCH

The Eriostemon or Philotheca myoporoides Gold Touch is a bright bush, particularly floriferous and pleasantly aromatic, which will delight enthusiasts of Australian plants. It forms a light and overall rounded mass, covered with fine variegated foliage on which a myriad of small white star-shaped flowers bloom, with a sweet and sugary fragrance. It blooms from the end of winter and throughout a long period. If you have a garden located on a coastal facade, this variegated Eriostemon should thrive in open ground in your garden, in a heathland bed. As it performs well in pots, gardeners in more continental climates can admire it on the terrace throughout the summer season and bring it indoors during winter in a lightly heated greenhouse or conservatory.

The Myoporum-flowered Philotheca is a plant from the Rutaceae family, native to southeastern Australia. Its natural habitat consists of open forested areas. Now classified in the genus Philoteca, this bush is relatively unknown in France. With a winter flowering, or at least early flowering, it appeared in Europe in the 1820s. Comfortable in neutral to acidic soils, the plant is water-efficient and can withstand short frosts of around -7°C (19.4°F).

The Philotheca myoporoides Gold Touch 'Panroue' is a variegated horticultural selection that has received the Bronze Medal at the Plantarium New Varieties Competition 2022. The plant forms a generally rounded bush with a dense and light habit, reaching about 1.20 m (4ft) in all directions but often wider than tall. Branching from the base, it has warty stems that bear evergreen leaves, oblong in shape, pointed at their tips, measuring less than 10 cm (4in). Their thick lamina is green with cream margins. When crushed, they release an aroma reminiscent of orange blossom. In mild climates, the flowers appear from October, grouped in clusters of 3 to 5 pink buds, in the axils of the leaves. The flowering lasts until March. In cooler climates, it extends from February to May. The buds open into a small star-shaped corolla composed of 5 waxy white petals, sometimes tinged with pink, surrounding fused orange stamens. These flowers measure 1 cm (1in) wide, but they are so numerous in winter and spring that they almost make the foliage disappear.

The Eriostemon Gold Touch prefers partial shade and mild climates. Its requirements are clear and must be respected in order to succeed in its cultivation and enjoy its beauty. Outside of certain well-targeted areas of our Mediterranean coast or, more broadly, along the Atlantic facade, it seems preferable to cultivate it in a pot, whose substrate and wintering conditions can be controlled. In the garden, it can be paired with other Australian plants, such as Boronia heterophylla, Galvezia speciosa, Gomphostigma virgatum, or white, pink, or red heathland shrubs. On the terrace or balcony, it can be surrounded by Dark Blue Plumbago with its long blue flowering, a Tibouchina, or a Leptospermum Wiri Kerry.