Ruellia – commonly called wild petunia – is an easy to care for evergreen perennial shrub that is great for use as coverage and are terrific attractors for butterflies.
Ruellia flowers from mid-spring through the first frosts of autumn, with purple or blue funnel shaped blooms on low drooping branches with linear serrated leaves in a purple hue.
An ideal location for growing ruellia is with full sun exposure. Although ruellia flowers are highly adaptable and may do well in shade, expect fewer blooms, due to the lack of sunlight.
They appreciate regular water, but can withstand drought conditions.
You’ll need to think about the location of ruellia plants, as it aggressively self sows and care should be taken to contain the plants, along with trimming rampant growth.
You can also propagate by seed, cuttings, or by root divisions.
However, due to its self-sowing, the plant makes an ideal container plant, serving to impede the rampant spread likely to occur when directly planted in the garden.
