Senecio formosus is a striking perennial from the high Andes of Colombia, Ecuador, and northern Peru, where it inhabits cool páramo grasslands and misty alpine slopes at considerable elevation. Bold violet-purple daisy flowers with golden centers rise above lush foliage, creating an unexpectedly rich display amid the windswept mountain landscape. In bloom, the plant combines the vivid color of a garden perennial with the rugged resilience of a true alpine species. This seed grown collection from a friend of ours was growing at 13,000’ up in the Columbian Paramo.
Adapted to cool summers, intense sunlight, and sharply drained mountain soils, this species performs best in rock gardens or raised beds that avoid excessive winter wet and heat. Its substantial foliage and large flowers lend an almost tropical appearance, yet it is fundamentally a plant of cold nights and open alpine exposures. Given consistent moisture during growth and excellent drainage, it can become a memorable and unusual specimen for collectors of high-elevation plants. We have a few seedlings we will send out to get these genetics out, as this is a super cool plant that should be more widely trialed in horituculture.
Hardy to roughly USDA Zone 7, i’m guessing. it is best suited to gardeners interested in unusual Andean flora, where its combination of vivid flowers, exotic foliage, and mountain toughness makes it unlike nearly any other hardy perennial. This is one of those plants that can see temps below freezing followed by warm humid conditions more like tropical weather, adaptable?
Senecio formosus is a striking perennial from the high Andes of Colombia, Ecuador, and northern Peru, where it inhabits cool páramo grasslands and misty alpine slopes at considerable elevation. Bold violet-purple daisy flowers with golden centers rise above lush foliage, creating an unexpectedly rich display amid the windswept mountain landscape. In bloom, the plant combines the vivid color of a garden perennial with the rugged resilience of a true alpine species. This seed grown collection from a friend of ours was growing at 13,000’ up in the Columbian Paramo.
Adapted to cool summers, intense sunlight, and sharply drained mountain soils, this species performs best in rock gardens or raised beds that avoid excessive winter wet and heat. Its substantial foliage and large flowers lend an almost tropical appearance, yet it is fundamentally a plant of cold nights and open alpine exposures. Given consistent moisture during growth and excellent drainage, it can become a memorable and unusual specimen for collectors of high-elevation plants. We have a few seedlings we will send out to get these genetics out, as this is a super cool plant that should be more widely trialed in horituculture.
Hardy to roughly USDA Zone 7, i’m guessing. it is best suited to gardeners interested in unusual Andean flora, where its combination of vivid flowers, exotic foliage, and mountain toughness makes it unlike nearly any other hardy perennial. This is one of those plants that can see temps below freezing followed by warm humid conditions more like tropical weather, adaptable?
