Mexican petunia ( Ruellia Brittoniana )
-
- ruellia-flower
-
- ruellia
I’ve also heard this called ‘Mexican Pansies’.
These flowers grow from thick stalks that are about 1/2″ in diameter. The stalk is soft and easily broken.
It loves hot and sunny locations, although I have one growing in a mostly shaded area too. The more sun this plant gets the more flowers you’ll have. The flowers are purple and Mexican petunia will bloom through most of the summer. The flowers are well liked by butterflies.
It will grow aggressively in damp areas ( read can be invasive ) but will survive an occasional drought once the plant has settled in and become established.
The roots are shallow so if it becomes a problem you can dig them up with out much trouble.
It will be damaged and die back in a frost, but will return in spring. Remove damaged growth 2-3 months after the frost.
More information:
Floridata, Ruellia Brittoniana
Dwarf Mexican Petunia
5 Responses to 'Mexican petunia ( Ruellia Brittoniana )'
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
This plant is unaffected by sub-freezing temperatures ( 27′F)
admin
7 Jan 08 at 2:18 pm
Nothing effects this plant as near as I can tell. I grow it in full sun, shade, wet areas and dry areas.
It is an excellent plant for difficult locations.
ljmacphee
25 Aug 08 at 11:57 am
Loved by some, hated by other gardeners. It is a great plant for just about anywhere nothing else will grow. None of mine are in shade, they all get at least half sun.
But don’t plant it if you don’t love it, it’s impossible to remove. Spreads rapidly.
ljmacphee
25 Mar 09 at 9:00 pm
These are growing and spreading, totally drought tolerant, but they did flower less this summer.
timestocome
9 Sep 09 at 5:19 pm
Of all the garden damage after the 3 day freeze this one looks the worst. The plants I’m sure will bounce back in spring, but it left lots of jagged brown stuff all over the yard and it looks awful.
timestocome
21 Jan 10 at 11:05 am