Common name: Kangaroo Paw, Cat's Paw, Australian Sword Lily
Family: Haemodoraceae (Bloodwort) (closely related to the Lily family)
Height x width: 2-4' x 1-2'
Growth habit: upright, clumps, grass-like; evergreen or semi-deciduous; from rhizomes
Growth rate: moderate
Foliage: fans of light to dark green, lanceolate or sword-shaped leaves 1-2 ft. long
Flowers: erect, slender, sometimes branched flower stems (scapes) with terminal racemes or panicles thought to resemble a kangaroo or cat's paw; florets 2-lipped, tubular, dense wooly hairy with hairs imparting colors of red, orange, green or yellow; blooms outdoors in summer, anytime indoors
Hardiness: USDA zone 9
Soil: well-drained, acid
Light: sun
Pests and Problems: few, leaf spot, spider mites indoors
Landscape habit, uses: containers, set in borders for accents during summer and overwinted indoors where wont freeze, cutting and dried
Other interest: native to various habitats of S.W. Australia, depending on species
Other culture: overwinter indoors where no frost or freezing, water well in summer, keep on dry side during dormant winter period indoors if not in active growth or blooming
Propagation: spring division, sow ripe seed
Species: Of the 11 species, the following are most common outside of Australia, usually found as species but occasionally a cultivar.
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