October's Flower of the Month

Golden Dewdrop

Duranta erecta

The flowers and fruit of golden dewdrop are its chief attributes. Throughout the summer, blue flowers hang in loose, six-inch long clusters, and they are followed by one-half inch, showy yellow to yellow-orange elongated spherical to teardrop-shaped fruits.  

Duranta is a spreading plant with branches that are sometimes droopy and vinelike. Plants growing in the wild may have thorns, but those that are nursery grown are usually thornless. In USDA Zones 8B and 9, it behaves like an herbaceous perennial, albeit a woody one. It gets killed to the ground most winters, but returns with vigor the following year. In the northern reaches of its hardiness range, it does not attain the stature of plants growing in the tropics. It is an attractive annual in zones further north. 

Culture Golden dewdrop blooms best in full sun but is satisfactory in part shade. It tolerates soil that is slightly alkaline or acidic and needs moderate fertility and moisture-retentive but well-drained soil. Prune while small to make a more compact shrub and to improve shape. In areas where it does not get killed to the ground in winter, it may become aggressive. 

Comments Use in mixed shrub borders or as an attractive specimen. Several cultivars are available, including the variegated forms, ‘Variegata’ and ‘Golden Edge.’ ‘Alba’ has white flowers, and ‘Sapphire Showers’ has violet-blue, ruffled flowers with narrow, white picotee edges. Flowers attract butterflies and the berries are attractive to birds but poisonous to humans.

At a Glance

Say: door-AN-tuh ee-RECK-tuh

Hardiness: USDA Zones 8B-11 

Salt tolerance: Moderate to Slight

Family: Verbenaceae (Verbena)   

Size: 8-15 ft. tall/10-15 ft. wide 

Other common names: Brazilian sky flower, duranta, pigeon berry, sky flower

Origin: Tropical America; South Florida and South Texas (possibly naturalized)

Relatives: Clerodendrum ugandense (blue glory bower); Vitex agnus-castus (chaste tree)

Propagation: Easy from tip cuttings; seeds

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