Featured Plant of the Week (Pincushion)
Pincushion
A unique and long lasting plant, Pincushion is prized for its multitude of vibrantly colored small berries. Growing only a couple of inches tall at most, it makes an excellent accent or ground cover for humid and cool places. The berries last for months, and come in a variety of colors such as orange, white, and yellow.
Even without its signature fruit Pincushion is an attractive plant. During the spring it produces tiny white flowers as numerous as the fruit. Even without that, the compact foliage is attractive thanks to its close appearance to Baby's Tears. This means that while the plant is perfect for fall, harvest or Halloween décor, it remains appealing all year round.
Pincushion is just one name for this small ground creeper, which is fortunate since many plants go by the same nick-name. Science knows it as Nertera granadensis, and it is just one of about 15 species in the Nertera genus. The name Nertera has roots in the Greek word nerteros, which means down low. Its common names include Pincushion, Coral Bead Plant, and simply Bead Plant. In Chile, one of its native habitats, it is known as Rucachucao by indigenous people called the Mapuche. Rucachucao means Chucao's House. Chucaos are small birds native to Chile and Argentina.
Nertera granadensis calls an unusually large number of places around the Pacific home. It can be found from southern Chile and western Argentina, all the way north to Guatemala. On the other side of the ocean it grows in New Zealand, eastern Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and even Taiwan! In the more tropical regions it occurs only at high altitudes, preferring mountainous regions with cool but moist conditions.
Because of the unusual conditions of its habitat, Pincushion has a reputation of being difficult to grow. This is somewhat well deserved, as popular consensus appears to be this is not a ‘beginners' plant. For starters it requires porous soil, since allowing it to stand in water will harm the plant. On the other hand it cannot be allowed to dry out either, so the soil should be kept uniformly moist. It prefers bright indirect light indoors, and outdoors a lightly shady spot is best. Optimal temperature is cool to average indoors, or about 55° to 65°F. Don't expose it to frost. If it's too warm, Pincushion will not produce berries. It apparently also requires more humid places despite its predilection for cool temperatures, so mist it regularly from the time it flowers until it begins to bear fruit, unless you can find a naturally cool and humid place. When the berries turn black and begin falling off, you can remove them to keep its appearance clean. Despite these requirements, you will have a bright and eye catching plant if you can meet them, and it will continue to reward you with new berries each year.
Pincushion is only in season during the late summer and first half of fall, and Nurserymen's Exchange is the sole supplier of it in the United States. So come down to BloomRite® Gardens to buy 3" Pincushion while supplies last! 3" Pincushion is $3.15 per plant and sold in flats of 18 plants; it comes with complementary terra cotta pots.
