How to Grow Ruellia Plants

Ruellia Growing and Care Guide

• Common Names: Ruellias, Wild petunia, Common Ruellia, Fever root, Christmas pride.
• Life Cycle: Hardy perennial. Half-hardy perennial.
• Height: 12 to 48 inches (30—120 cm).
• Native: Americas, Asia.
• Growing Region: 8 to 10 as a hardy perennial; 4 to 9 as a half-hardy perennial.
• Flowers: Spring through to summer.
• Flower Details: Purple, red. Tubular. Showy.
• Foliage: Evergreen. Woody-stems. Linear-lanceolate dark green leaves.
• Sow Outside: Cover seed. Spring.
• Sow Inside: Germination time: one to two months. Temperature: 70 to 75°F (21-24°C). Nine or ten weeks in advance. Transplant outdoors well after the last frost when temperatures do not drop below 65°F (18°C). Space at 18 to 24 inches (45—60 cm).
• Requirements and care: Full sunlight (for best blooms) to full shade, most species perform well in partially shaded hot areas. Fertile, organic soil. Does well in hot humid environments. Very versatile, performs best in wet/boggy soils, though can also grow in average soils with good drainage that are kept moist, and becomes drought tolerant once established. Can spread aggressively through self-seeding and via rhizomes. Propagate: by dividing in the spring in cooler areas or in the autumn in warmer areas. Alternatively take cuttings in spring or summer.
• Family:
• Closely Related Species:
• Miscellaneous: Classified as invasive in many areas, and is especially a problem in Florida and other South-eastern US states. For this reason consider growing a sterile cultivar such as Ruellia simplex cv. Purple Showers. Attracts brush-footed butterflies (Nymphalinae). Some members of the genus are poisonous, whilst others are used as herbal remedies for urinary problems and as an anthelmintic to destroy parasitic worms.