How to Grow and Care for Duranta Plant (Golden Dewdrops)

Duranta plant, also commonly called golden dewdrops, is a tropical flowering broadleaf evergreen often grown as an annual outdoor shrub or potted houseplant outside its zone 10—11 hardiness range. A member of the verbena family, duranta typically grows 2 to 4 feet tall in regions where it dies back in the winter, but it can achieve heights of 18 feet in warm winter environments.

Typically planted in the spring, a duranta plant quickly becomes a small flowering shrub in its first season and can grow into a small tree in warm climates within a few years. Duranta erecta berries are toxic to humans and dogs.

Duranta Care

Duranta plant prefers a full sun location and moist but well-drained soil, but it will tolerate some shade, albeit with reduced flowering and a lankier growth habit. In cold-winter zones, it is straightforward to grow as an annual since the plant will die back to the ground each winter. In warm-winter zones where it grows as a perennial, additional care is needed—especially yearly pruning to keep the plant tidy and well-shaped.

Here are the main care requirements for growing duranta:

• Fertilizing is optional and unnecessary; if using fertilizer, opt for a slow-release type to encourage flowering.
• Water on a regular schedule, providing at least 1 inch per week; becomes somewhat drought resistant once well established.
• Loves full sun and thrives in warm weather; bring indoors when the temperature drops below 40 F.
• Grows fast and can overgrow a location if not pruned with some regularity.

Light

Duranta plants need full sun to get the energy they need to make blooms and berries. Plants growing in too much shade often get lanky and sparse.

Soil

When growing duranta plants as annuals, provide rich, loamy soil, with a pH range of 5.6—7.5, to help the plants reach their potential in one growing season. Within their hardiness zone (10-11), duranta plants can tolerate lean soil as long as they have good drainage.

Water

Duranta plants require moderate water, especially before they become established. Plants growing outdoors need the equivalent of about an inch of rain per week. When growing in containers, water your duranta when the top inch of the soil feels dry.

Temperature and Humidity

The duranta likes it hot; even triple-digit temperatures won't slow it down. If you are growing the plant in a container, bring it indoors when temperatures dip below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Duranta plants do well in both dry and humid conditions. They also tolerate the salty air of beach climates.

Fertilizer

Duranta plants are not heavy feeders and can get by without any supplemental fertilizer in rich soil. In lean or rocky soils, you can use an all-purpose general fertilizer once a month or a slow-release fertilizer during the growing season.

Types of Duranta

Common characteristics of the Duranta erecta species are attractive evergreen foliage with rounded or oval leaves about 2 inches long; some varieties have gold or variegated leaves. It delivers scores of pale blue, white, or violet blossom clusters for the entire growing season and develops drooping clusters of yellow or orange berries in the fall. Birds eagerly eat the berries. Butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds visit the flowers for their nectar.

Duranta is commonly cultivated as hedges and ornamental plants. Some common cultivars include:

• 'Alba:' This duranta plant forms clusters of white flowers.
• 'Golden Edge:' The 'Golden Edge' variety sports bright gold and green foliage.
• 'Sapphire Showers:' This variety features vivid violet blooms with white edges.
• 'Sweet Memories:' This type of duranta does not have thorns and features purple flowers edged with white.

Pruning

In regions where it is winter hardy, it's essential to prune this fast-growing, semi-weeping duranta plant to keep it in bounds. Without pruning, a duranta plant can take over garden paths, walkways, and structures and choke out neighboring plants.

Because duranta plants form flowers on new growth, you can cut them back severely in the winter to prepare for the burst of growth in the spring. Wear gloves when pruning; some varieties have small thorns.

Propagating Duranta

Propagating is not only a cheap way to increase your duranta plant population, but it's also a way to overwinter plants when the original specimen is too large to bring indoors. Duranta plants root easily from softwood stem cuttings.

1. Take a 6-inch cutting of a woody stem in the summer.
2. Dip the end of the cutting in rooting compound.
3. Plant the cutting in a pot filled with well-drained potting mix and keep moist until the roots establish and new green growth starts.
4. When well-rooted and actively growing, plant the sapling in the desired garden location or in a large pot for growing indoors.

How to Grow Duranta From Seed

Because many duranta plants are hybrids, propagating from seed isn't recommended, as the plant may not come true to the parent. However, if you're not concerned about an exact match, you can collect seeds from ripe duranta berries in the fall to grow new plants.

1. Remove the fleshy berry pulp to extract the seed.
2. Press the seeds lightly into a sterile potting mix and keep the soil moist until sprouts appear.
3. Germination takes about 30 to 60 days at 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

Potting and Repotting Duranta

Duranta plants adapt quite easily to container culture and can be tidier specimens when given the boundaries of a pot. Choose a large, 16-inch pot for this rapidly growing plant, and make sure the pot has good drainage.

Pot your duranta plant using any quality bagged potting soil mix. If your plant is failing to thrive and you notice many roots coming out of the soil, the plant likely needs to go up a pot size. Duranta has a vigorous branching taproot system; keep the root ball intact when repotting.

Also, watch for sharp spines on bigger plants that can easily reach an inch long and pierce garden gloves and skin. Younger plants have few or no spines.

Overwintering

Potted duranta plants should be brought indoors before outdoor temps dip below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Grow them in a sunny window or provide plenty of artificial light. Pruning may be required to reduce the size of potted plants before you bring them indoors.

Garden plants in cold-winter zones are usually grown as annuals and pulled up and discarded at the end of the growing season. For indoor plants or warm-winter outdoor perennials, cut back to a single feeding during winter to allow the plants to go semi-dormant through winter. In the event of occasionally frosty conditions, the foliage may sustain damage but return full force in the spring.

Common Pests & Plant Diseases

Duranta plants are susceptible to whitefly infestations. A duranta plant with a white fly infestation will become weak and show a sticky residue on the leaves; the tiny white insects are easily recognized. Spray with a simple mixture of household dish soap and water; horticultural soaps and oils will also work.

It is also prone to anthracnose. Plants infected with the fungus that causes this disease will develop tan to reddish brown lesions along the leaf veins, and leaves may become cupped, distorted, and die. Fungal spores spread through watering. To manage the disease, remove and destroy diseased parts of the plant. Apply a fungicide for a seven to 10-day interval.

How to Get Duranta to Bloom

Bloom Months

Duranta usually begins blooming in May, June, or July, depending on your zone.

How Long Does Duranta Bloom?

Duranta plants typically bloom from midspring or early summer until the temperatures reach the 40s F or the first heavy frost.

What Do Duranta Flowers Look and Smell Like?

Duranta flowers are tubular with five lobes, blooming with blue, lavender, purple, and white flowers. The flowers have a slight vanilla-like fragrance.

How to Encourage More Blooms

Use slow-release fertilizers to encourage prolific flowering and ensure it's in a full sun location with at least an inch of water weekly. Deadheading can also produce more blooms.

Deadheading Duranta Flowers

Deadhead duranta flowers to encourage another set of blooms.

Common Problems With Duranta

Duranta plants are quite easy to grow, but a handful of problems can arise, often concurrently with moving potted plants indoors from the deck or patio.

Leaves Drop

It's common for duranta plants to drop their "outdoor leaves" when a potted plant is first brought indoors for winter. This is no cause for worry, as new "indoor leaves" will soon begin sprouting.

Yellowing Leaves

Duranta leaves turn yellow when the plant has insufficient light or nutrients. Ensure the plant is in a full-sun location and apply a diluted, slow-release fertilizer to see if the plant perks up. If keeping the plant indoors, place the plant in the sunniest window. Supplement with an inside grow light to give the plant the full-spectrum light it needs.