"Wild Petunia" is the common name for a
genus of plants in the Acanthaceae family known as Ruellia. The charming
plant pictured below is Ruellia humilis, a very easy to grow,
native, flowering perennial. It can be found growing wild in exactly half
of the states in the US -
//plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=RUHU The specific epithet
"humilis" refers to the low growing habit of the plant. In that
respect, I've used this colorful, long flowering plant as a ground cover.
The deer pay no mind to it, and it can take full sun to full shade quite
well. I grow Ruellia in average soil but have trialed it in various
conditions and the only habitat this plant seems to object to is wet
soil.
And as your eyes tell you from looking at the image, the common name
"Wild Petunia" is not a stretch of the imagination as are some
common names. These flowers really do resemble the annual Petunias that
almost every gardener in the world grows for season long color. But
unlike the Petunia, Ruellia humilis is a perennial and returns
year after year only to be bigger and more robust.
I hear so many gardeners lamenting that there aren't enough really
exceptional blue plants for their gardens. Well, lament no more! This is
that highly desirable, sought after blue. Ruellia humilis seems to
be in bloom almost all Spring, Summer and Autumn and has never been
touched by insects or any other type of pests in my garden.
The Kemper Center at the Missouri Botanic Garden
http://www.mobot.org/gardinghelp/plantfinder/plant.asp?code=M220
lists it as hardy to zone 4.
As I mentioned above, I've used this plant as a groundcover both in the
garden and on a steep roadbank and have seen other gardeners use it in
perennial beds and borders with stunning success.
The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center has a great technical article on
Ruellia humilis at:
http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=ruhu
I've been building a good stock of plants to share with you and now is a
good time to plant them.
What you'll receive are large, 2 year old bareroot plants in full, active
growth. They'll come to you wrapped in long fibered, unmilled sphagnum
moss. This material is antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral and a very
useful material.
The prices shown below include FREE SHIPPING on bareroot plants out of their 2" pots. If you would like to receive the plants undisturbed, in their pots, please add .95¢ per plant to cover the extra cost of shipping soil and pots.
7 for $ 35.00 delivered ($5.00 ea)
10 for $ 45.00 delivered ($4.50 ea)
15 for $ 60.00 delivered ($4.00 ea)
20 for $ 70.00 delivered ($3.50 ea)
50 for $150.00 delivered ($3.00 ea)
Larger quantities at even lower prices upon request
Ordering couldn't be easier! Just fill out the order form at
//www.sunfarm.com/orderform.pdf
