Thunbergia erectaKing's Mantle

The Thunbergia erecta, or King's Mantle, is a compact West African shrub carrying deep violet-blue trumpet flowers with a clear yellow throat, held singly against small dark green leaves. It flowers almost without pause in warm conditions, and the colour is a genuine blue-violet rather than the mauve most shrubs offer.

It is a standard of Gulf and tropical shrub beds because it stays compact, takes clipping, and keeps producing flowers at eye level along medians and boundary planting.

Specifications

• Height1 to 2 metres, scrambling to 2.5 metres where unpruned
• Width1 to 1.5 metres
• Native toTropical West Africa
• FoliageOpposite, small, dark green ovate leaves held densely; evergreen
• Growth rateModerate

Conditions

• SoilPrefers fertile, free-draining soils
• LightFull sun to partial shade
• WaterModerate; regular through the warm months
• ClimateThrives in tropical and warm subtropical regions

Additional Features

• FlowersDeep violet-blue trumpet flowers with a yellow throat, produced near continuously in warm conditions
• UsesIdeal for low informal hedging, median and boundary shrub beds, courtyard planting and containers
• SpacingPlant 0.8 to 1.2 metres apart for a hedge or continuous mass
• Low MaintenanceShear after each flush to keep the plant compact and the flowering close to the eye
• Pest ResistanceGenerally sound with basic care
• Wildlife AttractionThe flowers are worked steadily by bees and butterflies
• Seasonal AppealFlowers across most of the warm year rather than in a defined season

King's Mantle is one of very few shrubs that will hold a true violet-blue at hedge height for most of the year.