Ornamental Features:

Maltese Cross features beautiful clusters of scarlet star-shaped flowers at the ends of the stems in early summer, which are most effective when planted in groupings. The flowers are excellent for cutting. It's pointy leaves remain dark green in color throughout the season. The fruit is not ornamentally significant.

Landscape Attributes:

Maltese Cross is an herbaceous perennial with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its relatively coarse texture can be used to stand it apart from other garden plants with finer foliage.

This is a relatively low maintenance perennial, and is best cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season. It is a good choice for attracting butterflies to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Maltese Cross is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• General Garden Use
• Mass Planting

Plant Characteristics:

Maltese Cross will grow to be about 28 inches tall at maturity extending to 4 feet tall with the flowers, with a spread of 24 inches. It tends to be leggy, with a typical clearance of 1 feet from the ground, and should be underplanted with lower-growing perennials. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 15 years.

This perennial should only be grown in full sunlight. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This plant can be propagated by seed.

This species is native to parts of North America.