Plant Library

perennial

Jewels™ Bitteroot

Lewisia 'Jewels'

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Jewels Bitteroot (Lewisia 'Jewels') at Kennedy's Country Gardens

Jewels™ Bitteroot flowers

Jewels™ Bitteroot flowers

(Photo courtesy of NetPS Plant Finder)

Plant Height:  4 inches

Flower Height:  8 inches

Spread:  8 inches

Sunlight:  full sun 

Hardiness Zone:  4a

Brand:  Hort Couture

Description:

Low growing and compact with beautiful white, pink, coral, and peach blooms through early summer, repeating in the fall; a great perennial for the front of a border or rock garden planting

Ornamental Features

Jewels™ Bitteroot has peach star-shaped flowers with white overtones and chartreuse centers at the ends of the stems in late spring, which are interesting on close inspection. Its attractive succulent narrow leaves emerge light green in spring, turning forest green in color the rest of the year.

Landscape Attributes

Jewels™ Bitteroot is an herbaceous evergreen perennial with a mounded form. Its relatively fine texture sets it apart from other garden plants with less refined foliage.

This is a high maintenance plant that will require regular care and upkeep, and should not require much pruning, except when necessary, such as to remove dieback. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Jewels™ Bitteroot is recommended for the following landscape applications;

  • Rock/Alpine Gardens
  • Border Edging
  • General Garden Use
  • Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Jewels™ Bitteroot will grow to be only 4 inches tall at maturity extending to 8 inches tall with the flowers, with a spread of 8 inches. Its foliage tends to remain low and dense right to the ground. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 5 years. As an evegreen perennial, this plant will typically keep its form and foliage year-round.

This plant should only be grown in full sunlight. It requires an extremely dry, well-drained growing location, and will usually die in standing water. It is considered to be drought-tolerant, and thus makes an ideal choice for a low-water garden or xeriscape application. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in sandy soils. It is quite intolerant of urban pollution, therefore inner city or urban streetside plantings are best avoided, and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in both summer and winter to conserve soil moisture and protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid.

Jewels™ Bitteroot is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. It is often used as a 'filler' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, providing a mass of flowers and foliage against which the thriller plants stand out. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.

 
 
Hardiness Zone Plant Height Minimum Sunlight
Characteristics
Rock  Edging  Garden  Container 
Applications
Flowers  Foliage Color  Texture 
Ornamental Features