Tamarix ‘Pink Cascade’

Sun – Part Sun.  Many times I pick plants to be featured based on how many oohs and ahhs it receives at one of my open houses.  Tamarix shrub is often confused with Tamarac tree, a deciduous conifer.  They are distinctly different!  Tamarix has blue-green, needle-like foliage that is semi-evergreen.  The shrub can grow 10’ to 15’ tall and can have a ‘loose’ habit.  It works best placed at the back of a border where other shrubs and perennials skirt its base.  Wispy pink flowers adorn the shrub in late June and July.  It is a breathtaking sight.  I keep my Tamarix pruned to 6’ to 7’ so that it is more in scale to its location….plus you can see the fluffy flowers better.  Prune it in late winter.  Tamarix is drought and salt tolerant.  I first saw this native plant in Lake Placid, NY and began to hunt it down for my garden.  It is not always commonly available.  Tamarix is invasive in the western part of the United States.  It grows in Zones 2 – 8.