Tips on how to care for Ruellia plants

 

The ruellia plant is very easy to care for and is great to use as coverage. This plant offer unique beauty to landscape areas. Ruellia plant is a Mexican native. Just continue reading to learn more about growing ruellia plant.

Ruellia plant flowers are about 2-inch long funnel-shaped blooms growing on a perennial shrub. The ruellia plant is originally native to Mexico, but it is now found in the Southwest United States, naturalized in many areas.

How to care for ruellia plants

Ruellia plant is an evergreen and the care of the plants indicates thriving in very warm climates. Ruellia plant can actually survive winters in the 20’s and 30’s. The plant flowers will generally die back at the foliage tips below 32 degrees F. and all the way to the ground in the 20’s. On the other hand, upon a return to more seasonable temperatures, the ruellia wild petunia will bounce back with as much vigor as before. When thinking about the care of the plants, don’t forget that the wild petunia aggressively self-sows and care should be taken to contain the plants. Due to this self-sowing, the ruellia plant makes an ideal container or planter specimen serving to impede the rampant spread likely to occur when directly planted in the garden landscape.  

The requirements for growing ruellia plant

Actually the ideal location for growing ruellia plant is a site with full sun exposure. The plant flowers are highly adaptable and they will do well in shade, expect fewer blooms due to the lack of sunlight. The growing ruellia plants will actually appreciate regular water but again it can withstand drought conditions in prepared soil. Ruellia plants can be propagated via seed, vegetative cuttings or root divisions, and it should be trimmed to tame the self-seeding, rampant growth. Make sure you remove any frost damaged foliage to prevent any further damage or insipient disease. 

The care of ruellia plants is best in United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) hardiness zones 8b through 11. This plant flowers can be planted year round in all zones and used either in container gardening, as mass plantings or ground cover where they are terrific attractors for butterflies.

Some of the varieties of ruellia include:

1.    'Chi Chi' Ruellia: This variety is with pink flowers

2.    Ruellia brittoniana 'icicle': This variety is the type that blooms all white

3.    Ruellia brittoniana 'Baby Katie': This is a dwarf variety and is only about one foot tall with purple flowers.