PlantFiles: Jewels of Opar, Fame Flower
Talinum paniculatum

For two years I was in love with this plant then the third year it totally took over my garden. It is terribly invasive and the huge carrot-like roots are impossible to pull out by hand. Don't give any to your friends or they might not speak to you any more!

I admired this sweet little plant in someone's garden, and she was so kind as to give me some. (Shame on her.) This plant reseeds freely and the plants quickly develop a huge tuber that is difficult to dig up. Before I knew it, it was all over the place. I had to move to get rid of it. Never again!

I really love this plant because the tiny flowers sway in the breeze and they are so bright that you can see a wave of color.

Dies back in winter but reseeds the next spring.

I am growing the new variety called Limon.

Awesome plant. I have some in part shade and also some in full shade.

It grows about 1.5-2' tall in the part shade and under 1' in the full shade.

I prefer to clip off the most of the flower stems for a better view of the chartreuse foliage.

This plant is a very good cooked or raw spinach . In our area it is also known as Florida Spinach . Central Florida E Musgrave eamusg@quixnet.net

Greetings from Queensland, Australia. I have been ransacking my gardening books, and Googling night and day to identify an interesting plant which appeared in the garden of our new (to us! ) house. Lo and behold, here it is...Talinum Paniculatum. Whether this is of any interest to U.S users I have no idea, but this specimen appeared from nowhere (presumably from seed) and has withstood one of the worst droughts on record. Admittedly, I began to water it a little after deciding it was not a weed, but it appears to tolerate very hot dry weather. I shall take note of your comments about invasiveness, though!

Each year I keep my fingers crossed, and sure
enough, it returns to make me happy!

Grown on the west side of our home next to a small
fence, it would likely do well in a sunnier location, but
I've had so much luck with it where it is, I'd hate to jinx things.

The flowers are incredibly small, but worth a lean in
to smile about. Abundant seed producer, never have
to worry about reseeding.

I grow this plant down here in zone 8a/b. I grow it in pots that stay outside year round. During the worst drought ever here, this plant kept going when other plants wilted and died.

This plant also makes a great potted plant and placed on a window sill. Will grow, and bloom even with low light.

Nicknamed Old Lady Hat Pin here because the thin stalks and flower pods resemble the old fashioned long hat pins ladies used to use to hold their hats in place.

Does well in sun or shade. Does well, by itself or planted under trees.

I love this plant. Yes, it does self seed. Mine came up all by itself all along a strip just about 8 inches wide down the entire driveway. I watered it whenever I noticed the leaves curling up. This year I put down a soaker hose for it. When I moved the Mexican Petunias, it went along, as did butterfly weed and widow's tears. This is the fun part of a zeriscape "cottage" garden! When I bought the plant, it was mislabeled as a gaura. When I could not find a guara on the web that looked like this plant, I took one to the nursery today and they identified it for me.

I LOVE this little plant! I bought one and kept it indoors for about a year. It did very little other than exist. Then, I put the pot outdoors last month, in amongst my azaleas & roses, and wow! Growth and blooms!

I love the cultivar 'Kingswood Gold'. The lemon-green foliage is attractive and if you dig the root before frost, it makes a great bonsai for the winter. This is also a good way to overwinter the plant so you have a start for the next year. Where I garden in zone 5/6 it is never a problem with new seedlings in the spring or early summer. If they do pop up it is simple to just scratch them away.

Here in Seattle, in a container, this has been a surprise and delight. By chance recommendation from a neighborhood specialty nursery, I took home 2 of these plants; put them in a pot each with purple-leaved basil, purple sage, and a purple-flowering calibrochea (sp?). The plant form combinations were great; the Jewels of Opar is very upright and architectural when the sprays of flowers/seeds appear. The color, on the other hand, is a little difficult to mix, what with the pink flowers and red berries, not to mention chartreuse foliage. You can sort of ignore the insignificant pink flowers. It is amazing how this plant branches out so evenly without any pinching, etc. The seed sprays are the same. Will see if mine overwinter.

While I have found that this plant self-seeds all over the place, I really love it. When it pops up somewhere I do not want it, I simply pull up the tiny seedlings. My greatest fear has been that it would die and not return, becasue I did not know the plant's name. Finally, in the Feb. edition of Fine Gardening, an author referenced the plant, and I was thrilled!

The plants perform beautifully in my zone 7 garden - withstanding draught nicely, and requiring no attention. The seedlings pop up later then I expect, so I'm always careful not to disturb an area where I know they were growing the previous year. I also grow some in pots, just to be sure I'll have seeds for the upcoming year.
I bought my first plant, unnamed, from a nursery that is no longer in existance.

I have grown this plant for at least 40 years here in South Louisiana (U.S.) It is the BEST thing in heat & humidity & I know of no pests for this plant.

The foliage is so luminous, a glowing emerald that stands out on its own. The thin stems with the little pinky-purple-burgundy seed heads sway at the slightest hint of breeze. I love plants that take care of themselves & grow where they want to, within reason. This one just fits the bill for that. The roots become large & fleshy & come back each spring for me. I was given this many years ago as a passalong plant by my aunt and it has special memories for me.

It's a very cute plant for the connoisseur. It is invasive, so grow it in a pot, but don't miss it - it's so delicate-looking!

I love these little plants, but they aren't hardy by any means,nor have I ever had them spread in any way. I've had great difficulty keeping them alive and lost 4 of the 10 I originally started with because they were located in full sun and I didn't water them nearly enough. Maybe it's just my zone, but here they live on a shady deck and must have regular water or they faint! During hot spells, I have to water them twice a day.

This plant has some small pink flowers and succulent leaves, that appeal to some gardeners. However watch out for this is an invasive plant due to its ability to produce hundreds of minute seeds on its tiny fruits.

Do not plant in the yard since they will take over the place and you will be pulling them like weeds over the next couple of years. If you want to grow this do so in a pot, where there is no danger of spreading the seeds around.

The roots looks kind of nice, like Ginseng (but they are not, of course), but that's about the only nice thing I find about this plant. They are hard to get rid of! I live in zone 10.

The Jewels of Opar are a fantastic delight in any flower bed. It is pleasing to the eye all year around and blooms all summer long. Its foliage speaks volumes alone and requires little care. I haven't ran into any insect or disease problems and I am well into its second year, planning to plant many more. They are so very elegant and lovely.

A tender perennial used as annual in colder areas. Has succulent leaves and very small starry pink flowers with white stamins that sway on wiry-stemmed sprays. The tiny flowers contrast pleasingly with the red to burgundy round seed capsules (the "jewels".)

The foliage is outstanding. Can be grown in semi-shade, but won't get as tall. Very heat and drought resistant.