Skyflower: Versatile, Delicate Beauty

Skyflower is a versatile plant that can be grown as a shrub or a vine. It’s a delicate beauty that will grow in the desert provided it’s planted in the right place and gets the right care. Here’s everything you need to know about growing this evergreen landscape plant.

skyflower

Skyflower (Duranta erecta) is a delicately beautiful, versatile plant that, depending on how you trim it, can be grown as a shrub or vine. It can even be pruned into an espalier. But I think it looks its best when allowed to grow in its natural, sprawling form.

With bright green leaves, sprays of lavender flowers, and yellow-orange berries, these colorful plants have a light, airy tropical look.

Skyflower looks delicate and, compared to most desert landscape plants, it is “less forgiving.” It isn’t hard to grow, provided you plant it in the right place and take into account its preferences. (It doesn’t tolerate extreme cold or reflected sun, and prefers moist, fertile soil.) But it’s such a beautiful plant, many gardeners feel the extra care is worth it!

Why I Like This Plant

  • Lovely evergreen plant
  • Showy, cascading purple flowers
  • Mature leaves are bright green, new leaves are nearly chartreuse
  • Colorful orange berries
  • Berries attract birds, flowers attract butterflies

Things to Watch Out For

The leaves and flowers of skyflower are highly toxic and have been known to poison people, pets, and livestock. (Birds consume the berries with no problem.)

Young plants start out unarmed but develop thorns with age.

Skyflower requires a moderate (rather than low) amount of water, so plan on watering it more often than your native or desert-adapted plants.

Optimal Growing Conditions

If you’re thinking of adding a skyflower to your garden, you need to find a suitable place that will keep it healthy and looking good… while minimizing maintenance for you.

Here are the key factors to keep in mind.

Temperature

Skyflower should be grown in USDA Hardiness Zones 9 – 11. Plants can take the desert heat but are somewhat limited by their cold tolerance. They survive temperatures as low as 25℉ but typically experience some cold damage in Tucson and places with similar winter cold.

Sun Exposure

Skyflower can be grown in full sun to part shade. Plants do not like the reflected heat of a hot, sunny wall and appreciate some afternoon shade.

Size and Growth Rate

It’s a moderately fast grower that generally reaches a size of 8 to 10’ high by 6 to 8’ wide, but it can get bigger. Its ultimate size depends in part on whether it freezes back in the winter.

Soil

Skyflower prefers moist, rich, well-draining soil but will tolerate typical desert soil. For best results, amend the soil when planting.

Other Location Considerations

Since its growth habit is vine-like, an ideal spot is along a wall where it will get some support. (But that should not be a hot west-facing wall or a wall in full sun.) You can grow it along a trellis, but it’s rarely necessary.

Because this plant has toxic leaves and berries, it should not be planted where it might come in contact with curious kids or pets.

orange skyflower berries
Skyflower berries

Since skyflower likes moist, fertile soil, consider growing one in a large container. This also allows you to move it to a protected area during cold spells.

Skyflower:
The Essentials

Common NamesSkyflower
Scientific NameDuranta erecta
OriginCentral, South America
Plant TypeEvergreen shrub/vine
USDA ZonesZones 9 – 11
Cold HardinessTo 25℉
Flower ColorPurple
Flower SeasonSpring, summer, fall
Mature Size6-10’ high x 6-8’ wide
Growth RateModerate
Sun ToleranceFull, part sun
Water NeedsModerate
Pests & DiseasesNone
CautionToxic, thorns
WildlifeAttracts birds, butterflies

How to Plant

When planting any shrub or vine in the desert, dig a hole three times as wide as the root ball but no deeper. Since it prefers fertile soil, it’s recommended that you amend your hole with compost or a commercial soil mix.

When to Plant

The best time to plant skyflower is in the fall. This gives your plant three seasons to grow roots and get established before the following summer.

The second best time is in spring, the earlier the better. This still gives your plant time to get established before the intense heat of June arrives.

How to Care for Skyflower

Whether you’ve recently planted a skyflower or have an existing plant in your yard, here’s how to take care of it to keep it healthy and looking its best.

How to Water New Plants

Once you’ve got your skyflower in the ground, watering is your most immediate concern. Here’s the recommended watering schedule for new plants.

Weeks 1 & 2Every 3 – 4 days
Weeks 3 & 4Every 6 – 7 days
Weeks 5 & 6Every 7 – 10 days
Weeks 7 & 8Every 10 – 14 days

After week 8, gradually revise your watering schedule, depending on the season.

How to Water Established Plants

Skyflower is considered a moderate water use plant that prefers consistently moist soil. Therefore, it will need more frequent watering than your native or desert-adapted plants. Here’s a suggested watering schedule.

Spring & FallEvery 7 – 10 days
SummerEvery 5 – 7 days
WinterEvery 10 – 14 days

In the summer, water whenever the top 3 inches of soil is dry.

Should You Fertilize?

Since skyflower did not evolve to grow in our desert southwest soil and is a prolific bloomer, it benefits from an application of fertilizer in the spring and in the fall.

How to Prune

This versatile plant can be pruned into a shrub or be left to grow as a vine. You can even train as an espalier if you’re feeling creative.

Most homeowners keep it pruned as a moderate-size shrub, typically around 6′ x 6′, or as a small vine that grows alongside a garden wall with or without a trellis.

It’s not unusual for skyflower to incur frost damage. Once the danger of frost is over, you can prune it back to half its size to rejuvenate, control size, and remove frost damage.

Skyflower Cultivars

Here are a few skyflower cultivars that you may come across when plant shopping:

  • ‘Alba’ – white flowers
  • ‘Gold Edge’ and ‘Variegata’ – variegated leaves
  • ‘Sapphire Showers’ – blue flowers

Here’s a picture of ‘Sapphire Showers’ — isn’t it gorgeous?

skyflower cultivar sapphire showers
Skyflower ‘Sapphire Showers’

Plant Lover Facts

Skyflower (Duranta erecta) also goes by the common names golden dewdrop and pigeon berry. (I’m assuming pigeons eat the berries, but I have no idea why it’s called golden dewdrop when its most notable feature is its purple flowers.)

Skyflower’s native habitat includes Mexico, Central America, northern South America, and possibly Florida (there’s some dispute over this). It has now naturalized throughout South America and in parts of Africa, Asia, and the US (California, Arizona, Texas).

Did you enjoy this article?
Sign up for our weekly newsletter
where you’ll find more great info on creating &
maintaining a beautiful, carefree desert landscape.

Author Bio

Deane Alban is the creator of Southwest Gardener. She is a science writer with a bachelor’s degree in botany from the University of South Florida. Gardening is her lifelong passion. She’s been gardening in Tucson for 15 years.

Deane Alban

Photo Credits

J. M. Garg, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Ajtjohnsingh, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Mokkie, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Leave a Comment