Ruellia, Desert Petunia, Florida Bluebells, Mexican Blue Bells, Mexican Petunia 'Blanquita'

I honestly hate this planet due to it's extremely invasive nature. It's nearly impossible to get rid of once you let them get established...Read More. They grow (and spread) from deep tap roots so simply pulling them from where they don't belong isn't an option. The stems break at the ground and where there was one, multiples take it's place. In the heat of summer you can literally hear the seed pods pop, sending seeds flying everywhere and where they land, they WILL grown. We mow them down in our lawn.
The only way to eliminate these things is to wait until it rains, when the ground is totally saturated and soft, and dig these things up making sure to get every bit of root system (and there's a lot of it!) or they'll just grown right back.

Contrary to the database, this plant is a perennial for me in zone 7b, Knoxville TN, although it does die back in the winter. I was give...Read Moren a small piece 2 years ago, and it was huge this past summer, probably over 4' in some places. It's still blooming, and is quite lovely. I can see that it will get larger every year, but I don't mind because it's covering some old lattice in front of the AC. Mixed in with it is Indigo Spire, another enthusiastic grower. It should be interesting to see if they continue to get along.

A friend of mine gave me some of this wonderful Mexican Petunia, although it is not a perennial in my neck of the woods, I will difinatel...Read Morey grow it again, there is no way I want to miss those beautiful big blooms and I love the foliage, over 3' high and I didn't get them till the first part of summer, thank you for the info on the taking cuttings and seeds :-) Gotta love this plant data base.

I agree with Killmerfl, I'm not all that excited about regular petunias, but this one is very special :-)

I really enjoy this plant. It grows well in the poorest of soils, and in almost any watering condition. I grow them in a very area with...Read More hard clay and rocks, my parents grow them in loose sand where theres a water leak from the kitchen sink drain.

They can become invasive, however. In our climate the roots and sometimes even the whole plant does not die back, and new ones come up from the seeds. It will continue to come up if it's dug up also, since it sprouts from any bits of the roots, stems or leaves. Good idea to dehead or remove the seed pods before they have a chance to dry and burst open, releasing the seeds everywhere.