Sunday 14 December 2014

PURPLE SHOWERS OR MEXICAN BLUEBELLS (RUELLIA BRITTONIANA)

Purple Showers or Mexican Bluebells plant is another member of Mexican Petunia. Its scientific name is Ruellia Brittoniana, same as the Dwarf Mexican Petunia. Purple Showers is a native to Mexico and is a desert plant.
This plant is an evergreen shrub and it loves the sun.
It is very easy to grow and is very fast growing. It is hardy and can survive very dry condition.
Purple Showers is very easy to maintain. You only need to trim it down when it grows too tall or gets out of shape with some of its branches bowing over to the sides.
Once you plant a Purple Showers plant in your garden, it will be a faithful bloomer in your garden.
This plant is easily available, sometimes you can even see them by the roadside. If you need to buy them from the nursery, it is very cheap.
It can grow to a height of 1.2 to 1.5 meters (4 to 5 feet). It has dark green slender leaves and bright, showy flowers.
The flowers have long stalks supporting single flowers with single layered petals. The flowers is 
purple to dark blue and blooms throughout the year.
I have seen the ones with pink flowers but I have yet to get hold of one for my garden.
The shrub is suitable for backdrops especially to covered unpleasant wall surface. It can be potted or as a hedge, as beds, borders or as landscape plants.
It does not need much fertilizer and hardly has any pest problem. The flowers last for a day but is forever blooming.
I used stem cuttings to grow my Purple Showers. Just make sure that one of the nodes on the stalk is buried in moist soil for the roots to grow.
For those of you who claim or feel that you have no green thumbs or fingers, this plant will not fail nor let you down. It is one of the easiest plant to grow.
Unfortunately, in some nation, it is considered a pest plant for its fast growth. From my own experience, the ones I have are grown through stem cuttings and till now I have not seen self-sowing and so they will not grow out of control.
Honor the LORD with your wealth,
with the first fruits of all your crops;
then your barns will be filled to overflowing,
and your vats will brim over with new wine.
(Proverbs 3:9-10, New International Version-NIV)

15 comments:

  1. Very nice purple flowers. You have a very wide knowledge of plants & flowers, not only that, also professional in taking pictures of them. Learn a lot from your blog especially about plants and its benefits. Keep blogging & sharing, thanks.

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    1. Thank you for your compliment and your encouragement. I will continue to do my very best, am so glad that my posting is a blessing to you.

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  2. Nancy, can you recommend me some greens where I can put a small pot into my house... for deco? I need around five small pots... hehehee... it really brightens up especially in the bathroom... !:)

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    1. Off hand I can think of 3 green plants for your indoor deco...do you have the vase or base with you?

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  3. They are just beautiful! They look a bit like our petunias. Love both their color and shape!

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    1. One of petunias family...both beautiful and striking...

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  4. The flowers is so beautiful, loves it...

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  5. Wow, these are absolutely gorgeous!!!

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  6. Nancy, I love the colour of these flowers! I should look for them at the nursery as they seem like a good and pretty plant to have in the garden.

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    1. Please do so, they will add color to your beautiful garden.

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  7. This looks a bit like morning glory and its colour is lovely!

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    Replies
    1. Yes, a bit like morning glory. But this color is much deeper than morning glory.

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