I love Ruellia. They provide a show in the garden this time of year when most flowering plants are fading away.
There are about 200 varieties. They grow in a sunny to part sunny site and are adaptable to moist and dry soils. Ruellia grows about two to three feet tall and hummingbirds and butterflies love it! In garden centers, it may be called Purple Showers or Mexican Petunia. They are cold hardy to Zone 7 and south but will die back in the winter.
BUT this variety walks a fine line between being a beautiful ornamental and an incredibly noxious weed. I started out with one plant several years ago, now they are everywhere in my flower beds and they are choking out my daylilies, irises, and Oriental lilies. I am not happy!
Once they die back for the winter, I have every intention of digging them all up. If I had a field instead of a yard, I might consider giving them a chance. Another option would be to take some of the transplants and put them in a container…as in “contained.”
However, I am in love with this variety which is also one of the still performing perennials in the garden. The variety is Ragin’ Cajun. This Ruellia produces a non-stop display of deep red flowers held above the medium green foliage from late spring to fall or even year-round in frost-free climates. A compact growing selection of Red Ruellia, Ragin’ Cajun makes a great filler in mixed containers or as a perennial in the garden. Attracts hummingbirds and bees. A clump-forming die-back perennial that readily reseeds on exposed soils creating a groundcover in time.
