SEATTLE — Seattle gardening expert Ciscoe Morris has a monstrously large plant out by his sidewalk that bursts into pink blossoms every May.
“Everyone who walks by my house wants to know what this Big Pink Monster is. This is called ‘loropetalum.' When we bought it, it was labeled ‘Razzleberri’ and I hate to admit it this is on Mary's side of that garden. We bought this I'd say probably 1986, so this has been here a long time,” he said.
"These take a long time to get this big and beautiful. Now you can see that this is in witch hazel family look at those flowers, they look just like a witch hazel,” Ciscoe said
The evergreen shrub also goes by the name Chinese fringe flower. Hummingbirds love it, it enjoys full sun, and doesn’t require a lot of water.
"So, the only problem with this beauty is that it's it grows too fast, it's getting too big,” said Ciscoe. “So, just kind of get out and trim it back, at any spot where there's a branch coming out.” He warned against shearing, instead just remove branches.
Ciscoe says loropetalum are easy to find at nurseries, but the main thing you need if you want to grow a Big Pink Monster like the one in Ciscoe’s (well, actually, Mary’s) garden is time and patience.
Sponsored by Dramm
KING 5's Evening celebrates the Northwest. Contact us: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Email.