Grow and Care for Breath of Heaven

Grow breath of heaven in full sun and soil that drains, and water a new shrub until the roots take. Breath of heaven is Coleonema, also sold as confetti bush or diosma. If a search for breath sent you to baby's breath or heavenly bamboo, those are different plants.

Give it full sun and soil that drains, then ease off the water

Breath of heaven wants the brightest spot you can give it and ground that does not stay wet. Full sun keeps the fine needles dense and the tiny pink stars coming. Shade makes the shrub open and thin. Water a new plant by hand whenever rain is missing through the first season. After that, skip the regular sprinkler except in a long dry spell. A freeze near 20°F marks the tips. [1] Golden Breath of Heaven is an evergreen South African shrub in the citrus family, with needle-like gold foliage and pale pink flowers in winter and spring. Crush a stem and you smell a clean citrus scent. This gold form stays about 2 to 4 feet tall and spreads 4 to 6 feet. [2] A green breath of heaven grows taller. Heavy wet clay around the roots is the usual cause of rot. Once the roots take, the shrub can go through a dry spell. Coastal wind is fine. Do not feed a rich lawn dose. [3]

Plant a nursery shrub in winter or spring

Plant while the soil is cool and you can water by hand. Winter and spring are the usual windows. Set the root ball even with the surrounding soil. Give the gold form room to spread 4 to 6 feet.

1. Plant in sun, after frost, on ground that drains after rain.
2. Slide the plant out of the pot and loosen circling roots so they can grow out.
3. Set the crown even with the soil. Space plants so each mound can reach 4 to 6 feet across. [4]
4. Water after you plant, then by hand through the first season whenever rain is missing.

Tip-prune after bloom — do not cut into old wood

Flowers sit on the new growth. After the main flush fades, tip the stems back a few inches if you want a denser mound. The shrub looks better, and flowers more, if you skip a hard shear. Do not cut into thick brown wood with no green, because those stubs rarely sprout.

1. Wait until the main flush of flowers fades.
2. Tip each stem back a few inches, just above a leaf.
3. Cut out dead or crossing twigs at their base.
4. Do not shear into old wood, and do not cut a tall plant to a stump in one day.

Not baby's breath — and not heavenly bamboo

Breath of heaven has fine, needle-like leaves and tiny pink stars on a woody shrub. Baby's breath is Gypsophila, a border perennial grown for airy white sprays — see How to Grow Baby's Breath. Heavenly bamboo is Nandina, a cane shrub with compound leaves and red berries — see How to Grow Nandina. A tag that says diosma is usually this Coleonema, not true Diosma. Heath has similar needles; that care is How to Grow Heath. If the tag says Coleonema and the crushed foliage smells like citrus, you have breath of heaven.

How to start a new plant from a cutting

A tip cutting is the way to keep the gold foliage you bought. Take the cutting in winter or spring from this year's growth that is not in heavy flower.

1. Take a tip about 2 to 3 inches long, cut just below a node.
2. Strip the lower third of the needles. Keep the upper leaves.
3. Dip the base in rooting hormone. Stand the stem in mix that drains.
4. Keep the pot bright and barely moist until roots hold the mix, often 9 to 11 weeks, then move it into more sun before you plant it out.

Seed is slower than a cutting

Seed can grow a plant, but it is slower, and seedlings may not match the gold parent. Sow fresh seed on sand mixed with compost, cover it with a thin layer of bark, and keep the tray damp in good light. Germination often takes one to two months. Pinch the tips of young plants so they branch.

Set breath of heaven in full sun on ground that drains, water it by hand until the roots take, and tip-prune after bloom.