My favourite plant of this Summer season has been hands down, without contest, the Mexican Petunia (Ruellia brittoniana). I first took notice of this plant when I read about it on It’s Not Work, It’s Gardening (thanks Alan!) and then shortly thereafter I found them at the local nursery. I bought one, planted it and within days I knew that I wanted more … bought two additional plants and now I wish I had bought lots more as there aren’t any left.
I planted them as a trial in my “Gardenia Bed” (as I am looking for replacements for the Gardenia which I plan to move soon). During the hottest days of summer when everything else looks a bit limp, Mexican Petunia just does her thing looking all fresh, green and gorgeous. I planted two seedlings against a low wall I want to partially cover, and they have grown quickly and are getting the job done. They don’t flower profusely for me yet, but I don’t mind as it’s the foliage and form of the plant that I like. The flowers are a welcome bonus.
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See? Very, very pretty. I think they will start flowering a lot more soon as the plants are getting bigger, stronger and have more buds now!
Alan’s intro which I read and motivated me to buy the Mexican Petunia is here: Enjoying the blooms. He does another post in which we see that Mexican Petunia are easily propogated by putting stem cuttings in water, so I know I should just take a few cuttings … but I’ll wait for the plants to get a bit larger before I remove any stems. Besides, its just to hot to do anything right now 🙂
Happy Gardening
xxx