Ruellia - Mexican Petunia - Autumn Flowers!
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| Ruellia, Tall majestic Mexican Petunia |
One of the flowers blooming similar a shot is Mexican Petunia. While the two-to-three pes tall multifariousness alongside lavender-purple blooms is the i nosotros unremarkably see, at that spot are several others inward the Ruellia household unit of measurement that are native to the US.
Ruellia seeds are slow to start, and, a few years later they are successfully started they volition cast pocket-sized colonies of plants, adding cheerful color to autumn bloom beds as well as feeding migrating butterflies as well as skippers. Ruellias are costless of insect as well as illness problems
The seed-grown plants inward our garden came from AZ where seedlings come upward up fifty-fifty when it is 115-degrees F.
If you lot are edifice a butterfly habitat, Ruellias are of import non entirely every bit reliable autumn nectar for adult butterflies but likewise every bit caterpillar nutrient for several butterflies as well as moths. One of them, the Common Buckeye, is a beautiful as well as unique sight alongside several large imitation eyes on the wings. The caterpillars are black, white as well as orangish alongside soft dark spikes.
There are several Ruellia varieties, heights as well as bloom colors. Ruellia plants institute for sale inward garden centers vary then cheque the tag for mutual frigidness hardiness. The heights gain from 10-inches to 3-feet tall as well as the petunia-shaped flowers vary from white-pink as well as deep pinkish to lavander as well as purple.
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| Ruellia, dwarf pinkish Mexican Petunia |
The USDA industrial plant life database (http://plants.usda.gov) lists these varieties every bit native to the US:
Ruellia caroliniensis or Carolina wild petunia, Ruellia drummondiana or Drummond's wild petunia, Ruellia humilis or fringeleaf wild petunia, Ruellia nudiflora or violet wild petunia, Ruellia parryi or Parry's wild petunia, as well as Ruellia strepens or limestone wild petunia.
Garden catalogs that refer to Ruellia spp, important species, are offering Ruellia caroliniensis wild petunia seeds or plants. Ruellia caerulea Morong Britton's wild petunia, has pinkish flowers as well as grows inward all the southern states but was planted there.
Those are non the most mutual varieties sold, however. The i that is written most most oft as well as sold widely is Mexican petunia Purple Showers, Ruellia brittoniana. Purple showers spreads yesteryear hole-and-corner stolon rather than yesteryear seed. In FL where growing weather condition are ideal for it, Purple Showers is considered to last invasive.
Missouri Botanical Garden named Ruellia simplex Purple Showers i of their Plant of Merit selections, mentioning its durability inward moisture or dry, Sun or shade. They listing its hardiness every bit zones 8 to 10 but signal out that alongside protection it volition grow every bit a perennial inward zone 7.
Mexican Petunia brittoniana was named a Texas Superstar industrial plant life yesteryear Texas A&M University because it tolerate moisture or dry out soil, thrive inward amount Sun but tolerates role shade.
In addition, industrial plant life breeders convey introduced several dwarf varieties inward recent years.
The smaller dwarf Katie or Nolan’s dwarf is pocket-sized plenty for the front end of a border. The clumps grow most 10-inches tall as well as the flowers are pink, white or purple.
Although dwarf Katie plants tin laissez passer on the axe grow inward hot, dry out locations, they are said to last hardy entirely inward zones 8-11. Our dwarf plants convey returned for 4 years then far.
Pink dwarf brittoniana Bonita, hardy inward zones 8 to 10, would either last an annual or convey to last protected during freezing temperatures. Ruellia elegans Ragin Cajun, has flowers the color of reddish peppers, is slightly taller, as well as mutual frigidness hardy inward zones 8-10.
Mexican petunia tin laissez passer on the axe last shared yesteryear earthworks upward rhizomes, yesteryear collecting seeds as well as yesteryear rooting cuttings inward water, depending on the variety.
Prairie Moon Nursery (www.prairiemoon.com) as well as Jellito Seed (www.jelitto.com) offering lavander flowering Ruellia humilis seeds. Hardy inward zones 4 to 9, R. humilis matures at 12-inches tall. Plant Delights (http://www.plantdelights.com/) offers half dozen Ruellia varieties.
Ruellias were named for Jean de la Ruelle, herbalist as well as doc to Francois I, King of French Republic inward the 16th Century.