Ruellia simplexMexican Petunia

The Ruellia simplex, still widely sold as Ruellia brittoniana and known everywhere as the Mexican Petunia, is an upright sub-shrub of 0.9 to 1.2 metres carrying narrow dark green leaves and violet-blue trumpet flowers that open fresh each morning through the warm months.

It is unusually indifferent to soil, taking heavy wet ground and dry ground with equal calm, which is why it turns up in medians, pond margins and mass bedding alike.

Specifications

• Height0.9 to 1.2 metres, with dwarf selections at 0.3 metres
• Width0.6 to 1 metre, spreading
• Native toMexico, the Caribbean and South America
• FoliageNarrow lance-shaped dark green leaves, often purple-flushed, on upright stems; evergreen in warm climates
• Growth rateFast

Conditions

• SoilAdapts widely, tolerating heavy, wet and poor soils as well as dry ground
• LightFull sun to partial shade
• WaterLow to moderate; drought-tolerant once established and equally tolerant of wet soils
• ClimateThrives in tropical and subtropical regions and in warm arid climates with irrigation

Additional Features

• FlowersViolet-blue trumpet flowers opening fresh each morning through the warm months
• UsesIdeal for mass bedding, median strips, pond and swale margins and mixed borders
• SpacingPlant 0.4 to 0.6 metres apart for a closed block
• Low MaintenanceCut back hard when it becomes leggy and it renews from the base
• Pest ResistanceGenerally pest-free and resilient
• Drought ToleranceHolds flower on restrained irrigation once established
• Wildlife AttractionFlowers are worked by butterflies and bees
• VersatilityPerforms in standing wet margins and in dry median beds without a change of species

The Mexican Petunia is one of the most adaptable flowering fillers available, covering wet and dry ground in the same planting palette.