Category: Perennial Gardens

Wintering Begonia Bulbs The most demanding part of tuberous begonia care is wintering the bulbs. Begonia bulbs require a dormancy period. That means they need to go to sleep at certain specific times. Here’s how to put them to bed and how to wake them back up. These tuberous Begonias have been used to form the top of this… Continue reading Tuberous Begonia Care

Egyptian Star Cluster Shrub Pentas lanceolata, commonly called Egyptian star cluster shrub, is a tender perennial from USDA zones 9a-11. In colder climates it is planted as an annual. Red Pentas in our back yard. A Swallowtail butterfly is enjoying the blooms. (The blue flower beside the Pentas is a Plumbago.) Pentas flowers bloom in white, pink, red, and purple. There is… Continue reading Pentas lanceolata

Ruellia brittoniana The 3 foot tall Mexican petunia sports 2 inch wide, 5 lobed flowers from spring till frost. Ruellia brittoniana blooms in pink or purple. The leaves are arranged opposite one another on the slender stems. Katy Ruellia is a foot tall dwarf form of R. brittoniana that spreads less. This is a tough, drought and flood tolerant plant that… Continue reading Mexican Petunia

South Africa has not produced a more popular garden plant than the Agapanthus africanus. The African lily’s strap-like, evergreen foliage and dark blue to white blooms are beloved of gardeners the world over. Did You Know? Lily of the Nile Growing on a New Zealand Beach Agapanthus is salt tolerant and grows quite happily near the sea.… Continue reading Agapanthus africanus Blue Lily of the Nile

Plumbago Plant – Blue Plumbago CarePlumbago auriculataThe plumbago plant, Plumbago auriculata, is a marvelous South African native that is covered in true blue flowers all season long. There are light blue and darker blue as well as a white selection. The scrambling growth habit of cape leadwort makes it hard to classify. Is it a shrub… Continue reading Plumbago Plant – Blue Plumbago Care

Wild Petunia Ruellia humilis is the night flowering wild petunia. It bears the small funnel-shaped purple flowers typical of a Mexican petunia but its stems and leaves are more like those of a petunia hybrid. Its drought tolerance and small stature (6-12 inches) are characteristics it also shares with Ruellia brittoniana, the dwarf Mexican petunia. It differs from R. brittoniana in… Continue reading Ruellia humilis