Elegia tectorum is a beautiful large restio with stout culms rising from rhizomes to around 2 metres tall. The stiffly erect culms have persistent bright reddish pink sheaths and drooping hair-like foliage.
The new growth is particularly showy and male plants have a spectacular inflorescence of hundreds of spherical shiny brown flowers while females produce spindle-shaped spikelet’s covered with hard bracts. It is happy planted in full sun to light shade and will also take a windy location. It requires a well-drained acidic soil and likes frequent watering. It is native to the streams or wet mountainous areas of the Cape area of South Africa from sea level up to around 5,000 feet.
This is arguably one of the most stunning of the restios.
Hardiness: Quite a hardy plant, down to around -6 degrees. Once again by giving it a good organic mulch in late Autumn will both feed it and protect it over the winter.