featherplume
Dalea formosa · Fabaceae
featherplume (Dalea formosa) is a perennial shrub in the Fabaceae family. It is native to North America. USDA records it as hardy in zone 5 and warmer, down to about -13°F.
At a glance
| Type | shrub USDA |
|---|---|
| Lifecycle | perennial USDA |
| Native status | native USDA |
| Mature height | 3 ft USDA |
| Light | full-sun USDA |
| Water need | low USDA |
| Growth rate | slow USDA |
| Soil pH | 5.5–7.5 USDA |
| Flower color | Purple USDA |
| Hardiness zones | 5 and warmer USDA |
| Guild layer | shrub Derived |
| Nursery availability | Contracting Only USDA |
USDA quoted from the USDA PLANTS database · Derived computed by a fixed rule from those columns. No value on this page is estimated.
Growing conditions
It needs full sun. USDA rates it as having low water needs once established. Its drought tolerance is rated high. It will not tolerate waterlogged soil — USDA rates its anaerobic tolerance as none. It is recorded on soils from pH 5.5 to 7.5 — a broad range that spans acidic through mildly alkaline ground. Its cold limit is zone 5.
Size and growth
At maturity it reaches about 3 ft, making it roughly waist to chest height. It grows slowly.
Foliage, flower and season
Summer foliage is gray-green, fine in texture. Its flowers are conspicuous. It carries conspicuous autumn colour. Its active growth period is spring, summer, fall. USDA rates its lifespan as long.
What the site needs to provide
USDA records it across sites receiving 12 to 20 inches of annual precipitation. The low end of that band is genuinely arid, so it has a wide tolerance for dry country. It needs at least 160 frost-free days to finish its season. It roots to at least 16 inches. Fertility requirement: low — no feeding needed on ordinary garden soil.
Propagating it
Propagate it from seed, bare root and container stock. USDA records no cold-stratification requirement, so seed should germinate without a chilling period. Its seed spreads at a slow rate. It does not spread vegetatively, so it will stay where you put it.
Resilience and wildlife
Browsing animals find it moderately palatable, so expect deer and rabbits to take an interest. Its fire tolerance is rated medium, and it can resprout after damage. Its growth form is recorded as multiple stem.
Role in a guild
Shrub layer. In a layered planting this is woody mid-level structure between the understory and the ground. The layer is derived by a fixed rule from growth habit and mature height.
Tags
Related plants
Others in Dalea
- white prairie clover Dalea candida
- purple prairie clover Dalea purpurea
Similar role and hardiness
- basin big sagebrush Artemisia tridentata
- bladder senna Colutea arborescens
- Scotch broom Cytisus scoparius
- woolly beachheather Hudsonia tomentosa
- Japanese holly Ilex crenata
Where this data comes from
Every value on this page comes from the USDA PLANTS database record for symbol DAFO, or is computed from those values by a fixed rule. Nothing here is estimated or model-generated. Where USDA publishes no value, this page omits the claim rather than filling the gap.
- Quoted from USDA PLANTS: active growth period, browse palatability, cold stratification, Drought tolerance, fall conspicuous, fertility requirement, fire tolerance, Flower color, flower conspicuous, foliage color, foliage porosity winter, foliage texture, frost free days min, fruit conspicuous, growth form, Growth rate, Hardiness zones, Lifecycle, lifespan, Light, Mature height, Minimum temperature, Native status, Nitrogen fixation, Nursery availability, precipitation max in, precipitation min in, propagation, resprout ability, root depth in, seed spread rate, Soil pH, Soil pH (upper), Tolerance of wet soil, Toxicity, Type, vegetative spread rate, Water need.
- Derived by a fixed rule from those columns: Guild layer.
Read our full data sources and methodology.
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