Melianthus major - 2018

its still a beautiful plant Andrew ,it's my favourite in my garden at the moment it was a new plant i'm amazed at how much it has grown this year .. it's planted in an area where a down pipe waters it ...

Amy - are you planning to give it any protection during the winter? I gave mine a mulch for the first few years, but it doesn't have any protection now. I think it gets hardier as it gets older (the roots are probably deeper)

I was wondering about that Andrew , as it's new I think I should protect it I'm prepared to take good care of it Its a beautiful plant .. it's positioned in a corner so has a wall on two sides ... what do you do about the foliage if we have early frosts ?

I just leave all the top growth on over the winter. When new growth shows in the spring (at ground level), I cut the old stems away completely. By then they are looking pretty tatty anyway. You won't get any flowers unless the top growth comes through the winter, but I only grow it for the foliage in any case. We had one very mild winter (only four ground frosts) so I left the top growth on that year and had flowers. If you want to try and keep the top growth, try wrapping it completely in fleece, but even this will not be enough if the weather turns really cold

Thanks Andrew I'm grateful for your advice ,I will do the same ,I wasn't aware they had flowers ,thats a bonus if it happens like you a loved it for the foliage ..

Ours used to flower most years, it was very sheltered, have a new one now, which has been slow this year, due to lack of rain....