The Ruellias are one my favourite perennials. The 'elegans' are the leggy ones while the 'brittoniana' are shorties. Both bloom almost daily and add so much gaiety to any garden.
Ruellia elegans
This is the taller version. They tend to be floppy and need some staking while some of the branches can be allowed to drape elegantly over a tall pot for a striking visual impact.
Close-up of Ruellia elegans
and bud.
They bloom in clusters.
They can be planted in the ground or in containers. Here they are planted next to a row of Baphia nitida hedge.
These undemanding plants thrive without much care.
They flourish despite neglect. In fact this clump was unceremoniously extruded from its pot and dumped with its naked rootball on to the ground, yet it is thriving.
What
they cannot do without in our hot tropical clime is water. Copious
amount is needed to slake their thirst otherwise they would easily wilt. However, as soon as they get a through drenching, recovery is rapid in no time and they look none the worse for wear.
Propagation is by stem cuttings or root clump division.
Ruellia brittoniana
These are the dwarf species. I have them in three hues; pink, lavender and white. Propagation is by root clump division and from seeds. In
fact they self-sow freely and in no time, baby plants are seen
everywhere.
delicate pink
lavender
bridal white
This plant share the same container with Philondendron xanadu and ivy.
A pot of Ruellias of different hues with the white ones on the other side.
Snails are very fond of their leaves and make lovely meals out of them. After
their chow down, the plants are reduced to mere stalks, being
completely denuded of foliage. In frustration, I potted them thinking
that heights might deterred those pesky molluscs but alas no heights are
too lofty for them. I've seen them scaled up to the second level of the
house.
With such voracious apetites, the snails are on a ...
continuous chow down.
Floating dwarf Ruellias with teeny-weeny ivy leaves.
