Diosma hirsuta Pink Diamond

Diosma hirsuta Pink Diamond is a variety of hairy diosma that stands out for its flowers of a brighter pink than those of the famous 'Pink Fountain'. It is an undershrub that is frost-tolerant, and particularly floriferous, adapted to seaside gardens and also for terraces and balconies. The plant, which resembles heather, forms a beautiful foliage ball covered with small pink flowers from late winter to early summer. Its small tender green leaves emit a pleasant fragrance when touched. When planted in a container or pot, it can be placed outdoors during the warm season and protected from the cold during winter.

Diosma hirsuta Pink Diamond is a woody-based shrub plant from the rutaceae family, just like lemon trees. It is native to the Cape region of South Africa, particularly the valleys and slopes of the Cederberg, where it grows in non-chalky soils. It should not be confused with Coleonema, a very similar genus that provides shrubs reaching over 1.50 m (4 ft 11 in) in height and tolerant of limestone. The hairy diosma has produced some beautiful cultivars with flowering ranging from white to red.

'Pink Diamond' is a particularly colourful cultivar and forms a very bushy miniature shrub with a dense and slightly spreading habit. It reaches about 40-50 cm (15.7-19.7 in) in height and 50-60 cm (19.7-23.6 in) in width at the age of 10 years. Its flexible brown stems bear acidic green foliage on young shoots, darkening over time. The very fine leaves, measuring 7 to 10 mm (0.3 to 0.4 in) in length, are very hairy, glandular and aromatic. They emit a spicy fragrance when touched. They have no petioles and are arranged alternately and erect. The very long flowering, occurs from February to June-July, depending on the climate, and lasts about 4 months. The numerous star-shaped, fragrant and nectar-rich flowers do not exceed 7 mm (0.3 in) in diameter. Each flower is composed of 5 petals and 5 stamens. Their light pink colour turns into a brighter pink over time, even red towards the end. They are either solitary or grouped in terminal clusters and are followed by the formation of green, aromatic fruits containing 5 small black seeds.

Diosma Pink Diamond is a very pretty ericaceous or sandy soil plant, very useful for enhancing the landscape of a coastal garden or a large rockery, provided that winter temperatures do not drop below -5°C for short periods. It can be associated with heathers or plants from garrigues or scrub vegetation such as cistus, rosemary, lavender, thyme, or even Teucrium in mild climates. In most regions, it will make a beautiful orangery or lightly heated veranda plant where it will form, along with an orange tree, a Boronia heterophylla or a mimosa, a fragrant and extremely decorative scene.