Freylinia tropica, Blue Honey-bell or Blouheuningklokkies, is one of southern Africa’s most attractive and versatile shrubs for the garden. It gets a showy abundance of flowers in spring, but has some flowers all through the warmer months. The dainty flowers may be white, pale blue, mauve to purple. The plant may be a spindly, narrow and upright shrub or small tree, but can easily be shaped into a lovely, dense shrub.
Freylinia tropica is evergreen, cold hardy and a water-wise, drought resistant plant. It is also wildlife friendly and will attract birds, bees and butterflies to your garden.
Family: SCROPHULARIACEAE (Snapdragon family)
Name Derivation:
- Freylinia – named in honour of Count L de Freylino, an Italian who in the early 19th century owned a famous garden at Buttigeliera, near Marenga.
- tropica – from Latin, from or of the tropics
Common Names: Blue Honey-bells (Eng), Blouheuningklokkies (Afr)
SAF Number: 670.3 Zim Number: 915
Features of Freylinia tropica
The bark of young plants is smooth and grey, becoming rough and dark as it ages.
Form: A medium-sized, evergreen, flowering shrub.
Size: 2 – 3 m (7m) by 1 – 2 m
Stem and Bark:
- Single or multi-stemmed, upright with rounded crown.
- Bark is pale grey, greenish to dark grey.
- Bark of young stems are smooth but become rough and dark with age.
- Branches are quite squared.
Thorns: No thorns.
Foliage:
- Evergreen.
- The leaves are simple and opposite,
- Leaves are narrow obovate to oblanceolate and shiny green.
- The apex end of the leaf is V-shaped, and the margin serrated.
The apex end of the leaves are V-shaped, and the margin serrated.
The flowers of Freylinia tropica are tubular with five lobes. They maybe white, light to dark blue or even purple.
Flowers:
- The flowers are tubular (1cm) with 5 spreading lobes (“petals”).
- They are cheerful plants, flowering in profusion in spring and flowers all through summer.
- Flowers are rich in nectar.
Colour: White, pale blue to purple.
Flowering Months: Aug – Mar (-Jul).
Fragrance: Not fragrant
Fruit:
- The fruit is a small (<5mm), ovoid light brown capsule.
- The fruits are dehiscent (splitting open when ripe).
Growing Freylinia tropica
In the Garden:
- Freylinia tropica is a very versatile garden plant.
- Ideal for English country style gardens.
- Plants can be planted in groups of 3 or 5 in mixed beds.
- Plant in informal groups to act as screens.
- Blue Honeybells make very attractive pot and planter subjects
- May be planted and pruned into formal hedges.
- They can be trained up on a single stem to be standards.
- Freylinia tropica are often grown as topiary features.
- Their flowers attract adult butterflies, other insects and birds.
Soil Needs: Best in well drained, fertile soil.
Care:
- They are basically low maintenance plants.
- Feed with organic fertilizer and mulch with compost.
- Pinch out the growing tips to encourage bushiness.
- Prune from time to time to keep a good shape
- In cold areas protect young plants for the first 1 or 2 winters.
Cold Hardiness: Hardy.
Water Requirements:
- Drought hardy but thrives on regular water in summer.
- Water-wise.
Light Requirements: Sun or partial shade.
Roots: The roots are not aggressive.
Space Requirements:
- Plant 1.5m to 2m apart.
- Plant 75cm to 1m apart for a formal hedge.
Freylinia tropica in full flower in a garden where it is growing in shade with morning sun.
One of our Freylinia tropica mother plants in a pot in quite deep shade in the nursery.
Ecology of Freylinia tropica
A Dark Dodger feeding from a Freylinia tropica flower.
Birds:
- Sunbirds and other nectar-feeders will visit the flowers for nectar.
- Insectivorous birds will come to the tree for that visit the flowers.
Bees:
- The flowers provide food for bees.
Butterflies and Other Insects:
- Adult butterflies, moths and other insects visit the flowers for food.
Medicinal:
- Not known for medicinal properties.
Poisonous: Not poisonous.
Natural Distribution:
- Found in NWP, north-western L, eastern Zim and adjacent Moz.
- To the north of southern Africa, the range extends into Tanzania.
Natural Habitat:
- Grasslands, savanna-bushveld and forest edges.
- Grows on mountain sides, in open bushveld, along stream banks and in grasslands.
The masses of blue flowers of Freylinia tropica are lovely and make this a very showy garden plant.
References:
Coates Palgrave, K C, edited Coates Palgrave, M C “Trees of Southern Africa” 2002 Struik Publishers Cape Town
Fabian, Anita & Germishuizen, Gerrit “Wild Flowers of Northern South Africa” 1997 Fernwood Press, Vlaeberg
Joffe, Pitta & Oberholzer, Tinus “Creative Gardening with Indigenous Plants, A South African Guide” 2nd ed. 2012 Briza Publications Pretoria
Johnson, David & Sally & Nichols, Geoff “Gardening with Indigenous Shrubs” 2002, Struik Publishers Cape Town
Mutshinyalo, Thompson T. “Freylinia tropica” 2001 PlantZAfrica, Walter Sisulu National Botanical Gardens,
Updated, 2016 by Notten Alice Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens
(Referenced 28 May 2022) Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freylinia_tropica
Wikipedia “Freylinia tropica” (Referenced 19 May 2022)
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freylinia_tropica
© Malcolm Dee Hepplewhite & Witkoppen Wildflower Nursery, (Text and Photographs) 2012 & 2022.