The Trailing Dalea, with its beautiful lavender-purple clusters, low height and small, silvery, blue-green leaves make it an attractive, easily established, low-maintenance groundcover for dry and arid sites. Growing 6 to 12 inches high and roots at the nodes of long, trailing stems, it is especially useful for stabilizing slopes and rocky areas in poor soil.
Like most daleas, the trailing dalea does not like fertilizer and overwatering, especially in winter, although in the hottest weather, water helps keep the foliage full. Native to the Chihuahuan Desert, it is adaptable to other soils, as long as they are well drained. In the late winter or early spring, it’s recommended to cut off the stems of last season’s growth, encouraging new growth in spring. Its purple pea-like flowers on short spikes are not noticeable from a distance, but are attractive up close.
