Yellow Chinese Hat Plant, Cup and Saucer Plant, Parasol Flower

Description

Clusters of yellow, long-lasting, saucer-shaped calyxes are centered by yellow, 1" long, slightly curved tubular flowers and are produced along the arching stems beginning in late summer and early fall just in time for the fall hummingbird migration. Flowering may continue throughout winter and intospring in warm winter climates or will continue until the first hard frost or freeze in colder winter regions. The Yellow Chinese Hat,a relatively rare color formof Holmskioldia sanguinea, is a naturally evergreen, arching or scandent, tropical shrub growing to about 6-8' high and up to 8-12' wide by the end of the growing season, even as a dieback perennial in our zone 8B garden. It can be utilized as a specimen planting, as an informal hedge, espalier it along a fence or on a trellis, and even as tree form or standard. Provide the Chinese Hat Plant with a full to mostly sunny site, in an average moist, fertile soil with average or better drainage for optimum vigor and flowering.Provide an insulative but breathable winter mulch in the colder portions of its hardiness range, like in zones 8 and 9. They are also reported to make a good cut flowers. We find that the flower color tends to be the richestin sunny conditions. See our Growing on the Edge Growing Guide for more on growing root hardy tropicals as perennials in the garden and landscape.

In our zone 8B garden, we have seen our Chinese Hat specimen go through temperatures as low as 8 and 12oF and still readily returns from a well-established crown each year in mid to late spring. For us, the Chinese Hat Plant typically goes fully or completely deciduous even in our greenhouses.As the days begin to get longer and air and soil temperatures begin to warmthey will move back into growth. The plants can be cut back fairly hard just before or as they move back into growth in spring to create a fuller bushier plant. This is a good time to think about fertilizing them as well. Plants that are grown as die-back perennials, in other words they freeze back to near ground level like in our zone 8B garden, can be cut back to near ground level at the end of winter or in early spring to make way for the new season's growth. Where freezes occur, plant the Chinese Hat out in the garden as soon as the danger of freeze and frosts have passed until about early summer to give the plants the most time to establish a strong crown from which the plants can return the following spring.