However, pruning Mexican petunias is entirely up to you, and really just depends on how quickly and how much you want your petunias to flourish. Highly decorative ruella, or "Mexican Petunia," produces endless violet-purple flowers that attract butterflies. To improve drainage in moist beds, consider adding a little sand to the mix. They do not survive in the cold, yet they can still be enjoyed as summer annuals in areas that experience low temperatures in the winter. It is a fast grower that may self-seed aggressively. Cut back stems after flowering to encourage new flowers. Seeds explosively dehisce. 5 out of 5 stars (152) 152 reviews $ 34.95. Live Plants 6.25" x 6.25" Roots Plus 18" Foliage Spring Summer Bloom CharlesCorner. Seeds persist in the soil. It grows about 4ft. RUELLIA coerulea 'Purple Showers' Plant Common Name. Special Notice. Interestingly, the stem of this plant becomes more purple when it’s in bright light, as opposed to when it’s grown in a shady area, where the stem stays fairly green. Common Name: Mexican petunia Type: Herbaceous perennial Zone: 8 to 10 Average Rating: Your Name ... our purple showers are beautiful, we live here in florida and they really do great here, we planted them a couple of years ago,and they have just took off, great plant. Colesville Nursery. In shadier areas, the stems will present as a solid green. Ruellia brittoniana 'Purple Showers' Shrubs, subshrubs, and evergreen perennials in about 150 species from tropical America, Africa, and Asia belong to the genus Ruellia. Buy Purple Showers Mexican Petunia 'Purple Showers' is an upright and fast growing Mexican petunia that spreads by underground tubers. The Mexican petunia plant is a fast grower and is used successfully against block walls or to surround and camouflage unpleasant looking electrical boxes and air conditioning units. Once they take root (usually after a few weeks), you can add the plants to your yard. Flowers last only one day, but plants often produce an impressive non-stop succession of bloom. Shop our Amazon Affilate link to find all of our favorite garden products and support our channel. When given ideal growing conditions, Mexican petunias are not very susceptible to blight. As a fast-growing shrub, they may need to be repotted more frequently than other plants. While there are other Ruellia cultivars in purple, white, and pink, including some dwarf varieties, we grow ‘Purple Showers’ because it is sterile. Plants are most invasive in moist areas. Mexican-petunia (also known as Mexican bluebell or Britton’s petunia) is described as a “hardy perennial edging plant for flower beds and as colorful groundcovers.” Scientific names include Ruellia brittoniana, R. coerulea and R. tweediana, but taxonomists now use the name Ruellia simplex, which was the first name used to describe this species. Best flowering occurs in the deep South near the temperatures of its Mexican origin where flowers may appear from May to November, but sometimes year round. Straight species plants are rarely sold, but several established cultivars are regularly sold (pink, purple or white flowers in tall and dwarf forms).Genus name honors Jean de la Ruelle (1474-1537), French herbalist and physician to Francois I (1494-1547) who was king of France from 1515 until his death in 1547.Specific epithet of simplex is in reference to the leaves being simple.‘Purple Showers’ is a vigorous, upright, Mexican petunia (also called Mexican blue bell) that typically grows in a clump to 3-4’ tall. General Description. Mexican petunias are a favorite plant in the desert, but they also grow well in humid climates. Mexican Petunia is a great backdrop for other plants if you have a large space to cover. It is native to Mexico, but has escaped gardens and naturalized somewhat aggressively in parts of the southeastern U. S. from South Carolina to Texas plus Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the U. S. Virgin Islands. 2 more photos VIEW GALLERY. Tubular, trumpet-shaped, 5-lobed, petunia-like, lavender to violet flowers (to 1.75” long) bloom from the upper leaf axils in loose purple-stemmed clusters (long-stalked cymes). Plants will spread by rhizomes and self-seeding in the garden, and have escaped gardens and aggressively naturalized in parts of the southeastern U.S. Keep reading to learn more about growing ruellia. Once established in their new location, they should grow as normal and perk up when temperatures increase in the spring. It does very well in wet areas. It has colonies of semi-woody stalks that bear dark green lance-shaped leaves. Fast growing in partial to full sun, Ruellia can become invasive in moist garden soil, spreading by it's root system and reseeding easily. It is native to Mexico, but has escaped gardens and naturalized somewhat aggressively in parts of the southeastern U. S. from South Carolina to Texas plus Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the U. S. Virgin Islands. Dusty Miller (Silver Ragwort) Plant Profile, Aubrieta (False Rock Cress) Plant Profile, How to Grow Hardy Chrysanthemum (Garden Mum), How to Grow and Care for the Yesterday-Today-and-Tomorrow Plants, Calibrachoa (Million Bells) Plant Profile. It typically grows to 3-4’ tall in the wild, but to 2-3’ tall in gardens. Mexican petunia bushes take full sun—the more direct sun they receive, the more flowers will bloom. This plant thrives in moist, fertile, humusy but well-drained soils. Winter hardy to USDA Zone 8 (marginally hardy in Zone 7 with protection and mulch) where it is best grown in medium to wet soils in full sun to part shade. Invasiveness is clearly not a problem in St. Louis, however, where these plants are grown as annuals, with stem cuttings overwintered indoors if desired. Each flower lasts for just one day. Great Companions for RUELLIA 'PURPLE SHOWERS' Magnolia 'Elizabeth' Magnolia. They don't get very tall—just 3 or 4 feet high—so keeping them trimmed back can be done usually without a ladder or other special equipment. Plants branch from the ground into several woody-based stems clothed with elongated, linear, willow-like, dark green leaves (to 6-12” long and ¾” wide) that are often tinged with purple. Mexican petunias will spread quickly and naturally—sometimes aggressively— especially in moist climates. Flowering is very respectable but less frequent when plants are grown as annuals in northern gardens, but will typically bloom from May to September. Cover a large space or disguise unsightly items in the landscape. These leaves cast a metallic blue color under direct sunlight. Considerable confusion has existed over the years as to the correct specific epithet for this plant. This plant can be trimmed to … The cultivar 'Purple Showers' is an upright, floriferous selection of Mexican petunia, a heat tolerant, evergreen subshrub native to the American tropics. Cutting back the stems after flowering will encourage new growth and even more blossoms. Search by Plant Name A B C D E F G H I … If you're concerned about excessive spreading, you can opt to plant a sterile variety of Mexican petunia. Since they grow to be a shrub, medium to larger-sized containers work best. Leaves are often attractively marked as well. Like daylilies, they only bloom once a day, but continuously bloom throughout the summer. In fact, the wild variety is not often sold since it can become so problematic. Judy Hedding is a Phoenix resident and has written more than 1,000 articles about Greater Phoenix and Arizona since 2000. As long as you follow a basic desert garden to-do list and keep to a conventional summer watering schedule, you should have no problem raising bushels of these purple blossoms. ) garden ever planters, wagons, or `` Mexican petunia ( Ruellia brittoniana ) is a backdrop... 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