Plant Encyclopedia

Group/Class:  Obsession Series

Brand:  Syngenta

Description:

A wonderful spreading selection with strong, branchy vigor, excellent for hanging baskets and combination planters; clusters of small red flowers with white eyes create stunning visual impact; low maintenance, deadhead to encourage new growth

Ornamental Features

Obsession™ Cascade Red with Eye features showy clusters of red star-shaped flowers with white eyes at the ends of the stems from late spring to mid fall. Its tiny tomentose narrow leaves remain green in colour throughout the season.

Landscape Attributes

Obsession™ Cascade Red with Eye is an herbaceous annual with a ground-hugging habit of growth. It brings an extremely fine and delicate texture to the garden composition and should be used to full effect.

This plant will require occasional maintenance and upkeep. Trim off the flower heads after they fade and die to encourage more blooms late into the season. It is a good choice for attracting bees and butterflies to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Obsession™ Cascade Red with Eye is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Border Edging
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting
• Hanging Baskets

Planting & Growing

Obsession™ Cascade Red with Eye will grow to be about 10 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 24 inches. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 6 inches apart. Its foliage tends to remain low and dense right to the ground. Although it's not a true annual, this fast-growing plant can be expected to behave as an annual in our climate if left outdoors over the winter, usually needing replacement the following year. As such, gardeners should take into consideration that it will perform differently than it would in its native habitat.

This plant should only be grown in full sunlight. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It is not particular as to soil type or pH, and is able to handle environmental salt. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid.; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.

Obsession™ Cascade Red with Eye is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor containers and hanging baskets. Because of its spreading habit of growth, it is ideally suited for use as a 'spiller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the edges where it can spill gracefully over the pot. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.