Purple Showers Mexican Petunia, The Sterile One

August 29, 2010 by Rick

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Purple Showers is becoming the most popular perennial in Florida for good reason. It is very Florida Friendly as it grows in wet or dry sites without irrigation, requires no fertilizer, has no pest problems and it attracts butterflies. Sulfur butterflies are a regular visitor to these plants. Purple Showers has double the number of chromosomes as the wild Mexican Petunia. Currently, sterile Purple Showers only comes in one color but Rosanna Freyre, Ph.D. of the University of Florida has figured out a way to breed other sterile forms and colors. In the coming years we will have more choices. Read the last paragraph of this article Breeding Brilliance.

Mexican Petunia with 1 day per week watering in full sun 3 yr old plant after 2010 Jan freeze in August

This is a three year old Purple Showers that receives one day a week watering under the Tampa rules and no fertilizer. It is growing in full sun in a median setting with bark and rock mulches covering plastic. The plant was damaged by the January freezes but recovered quickly. You can see that it is clump forming and many folks point this out as aggressive behavior but that can be a good thing if you are trying to replace turf with larger beds of carefree flowering plants. Want to remove them from and area? Three successive sprayings of roundup at four week intervals will kill the plants. This is the same recommendation for other plants that store a lot of energy in their roots like cattails. More information on Purple Showers. Floridagirl’s blog My Florida Backyard has her take on Mexican Petunias you will enjoy.

Mexican Petunia

Purple Showers are always available at your Florida Home Depot garden centers where you will find a great selection of dependable Florida Friendly plants at a great price that are guaranteed to grow or you get your money back.

 

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Comments (9) -

September 22. 2009 06:50

Hi Rick,
I definitely have a love-hate relationship with my non-sterile version.

Oh, how I wish I had the sterile Mexican Petunia. This year has been the worst for the 'clump' in my back garden. Spreading like wildfire. But I have to say even the hummingbirds love it... it is such a critter attractor and such a pretty color... hard to hate it completely.

Meems

Meems

September 22. 2009 20:00

Meems,
Well said! I think this is a discussion that will go on for many years to come as this is truly becoming the number one seller in garden centers throughout the state. More begets more and when the new sterile colors hit the market in a few years  we will see big swaths of white and pink as well as other forms of purple-blue replacing large areas of thirsty turf.

Rick

September 23. 2009 07:13

I just planted Purple Showers for the first time this year, and am quite happy with it. I did just notice that it is beginning to spread underground. I am amazed at how many different species of wildlife are attracted to it. I've seen several types of moths, bees, butterflies and hummingbirds, too. I'm very pleased with the way it flowers and that it attracts so many varieties of wildlife. I look forward to additional colors in the future.

Susan

September 23. 2009 07:26

Rick,
Was working with a client this morning that has been begging me to put some in. We are replacing the grass in a narrow strip between sidewalk and street. I told him today he could have his Mexican Petunia there. I'm definitely purchasing it at Home Depot to get your sterile variety.

Thanks for always keeping us well informed. Will be on the lookout in a few years for more pretty colors. I may not be able to resist adding those to my garden. Smile

Meems

September 23. 2009 19:52

Susan, Meems,
I have a meeting with Rosanna Freyre Wednesday and hope to report to you the status of new sterile varieties and mid size to possible dwarf forms and release dates. This is very important news for Florida in an effort to cut the use of thirsty turf and replace it with attractive and durable flowering butterfly and wildlife  attractors. The aggressive root system will always be an issue but any plant that offers this toughness in our environment will have similar properties. I look forward to the future possibilities and discussions with you both as the project develops. Thanks for your interest and support.

Rick

October 1. 2009 11:41

I've had purple showers for about 8 years. I don't know how long you've been growing the sterile variety, but mine must be those, because they've been extremely well-behaved. They're really great color plants for those hard-to-tend-to areas

penlyn1

October 2. 2009 01:51

We have been growing it since 99.

Rick

October 9. 2009 21:30

Are these easy to keep trimmed, but still flower?  I am considering planting them around my screened patio, but I want to keep them at about 3 feet high and about 2 feet deep. Thanks!

Emily

October 11. 2009 13:15

Back then, I garden shopped exclusively at the Orange and the one we do not name here, so no doubt I have yours. I'll be watching for the pink and white sterile varieties!

penlyn1