Who Names Their Kid ‘Chi Chi’?

Posted on November 27, 2011 by Tina

It’s pretty, isn’t it?

I call it Pink Ruellia, but it’s also known as Hardy Pink Petunia. The official name is Ruellia brittoniana ‘Chi Chi’. I don’t know why the ‘Chi Chi’, and I wish whomever thought of that name would think of another. But, there it is.

I like this plant. Someone gave me a couple of starts many years ago– I don’t even know how long ago. One source that I read said that it’s a great plant to grow except in more tropical climates because it can grow “too well.” No kidding!

‘Chi Chi’ Ruellia can be grown in full to part sun, blooming best in full sun. I have several colonies of this plant and I’ve especially liked them in my front garden, which is shady. The plant grows as individual stalks and this adds vertical structure to the garden. The sprinkling of flowers at the upper portion of the stalks is an added bonus.

Even though they don’t bloom quite as much in shade, the flowers are soft and light and the foliage is attractive: dark green and slender. The leaves are opposite and grow the length of the stalk.

I especially like the ‘Chi Chi’ foliage after the first light freeze because the leaves develop a deep burgundy tinge and this adds richness to the fall/winter color palette. ‘Chi Chi’ is a herbaceous perennial so after a hard freeze, the plant dies to the ground. However, it is root-hardy in Austin and can be evergreen in mild winters.

I love it mixed with a pass-along Crinum Lily (unknown name) from my parents’ garden. When these two plants bloom (both are light pink summer bloomers), it’s a lovely combination. The foliage of the two plants work well together, too.

‘Chi Chi’ Ruellia blooms throughout summer and into fall. In hot August, the flowers are soft, fresh and pretty pink as they greet me sweetly early in the mornings. The individual flowers drop off by mid-afternoon and new flowers open early the next day, so there is a long succession of blooms. If we have rain, ‘Chi Chi’ will bloom into October. This plant is xeric and requires little care once established. It’s a tough plant that adapts to a variety of growing conditions.

‘Chi Chi’ has a rhizome-like root and spreads by root colonization and by seedlings. It can be invasive (especially with regular irrigation) and that’s something the gardener should consider when planting any ruellia, especially a non-native like the Mexican or the ‘Chi Chi’. If you live near a green belt, I would hesitate to recommend the ‘Chi Chi’ for your gardens because of its propensity to propagate. As with most flowering perennials, it’s very happy to have more irrigation, but it becomes troublesome with that extra water. In my personal gardens, it primarily spreads in the immediate vicinity of where the original was planted.

In this spot, the stalks have insinuated themselves into the rock walkway. Now that we’re getting some rain in Austin (finally!), I’ll take a shovel and dig them out to tidy the area. When the soil is dry, ‘Chi Chi’ can be hard to remove.

About four years ago, in order to diversify the plantings of one of my gardens, I removed a large colony of well-established ‘Chi Chi’. Or at least I thought I did.

I inadvertently left some root when I re-worked this bed, so stalks have developed in a colony of Yarrow. I could let the Yarrow and ‘Chi Chi’ duke it out, but I think I’ll excise the ‘Chi Chi’ myself.

In this drought year (gosh, that’s getting tiresome to say), the ‘Chi Chi’ didn’t bloom as much as usual, nor did they grow quite as tall as is typical. Normally, ‘Chi Chi’ grows over two feet tall. This year, this group in particular only grew to about fifteen inches.

It survived though and with very little care.

‘Chi Chi’ Ruellia is a hardy, tough plant for Central Texas gardeners. I’ve seen it in shade, sun, containers and as an indoor plant. It isn’t picky about soil-type and bees and butterflies will visit the flowers. ‘Chi Chi’ blooms in the hottest time of the year–always a gift in Central Texas.

However, it’s a plant that can be a bit of a bully, so take that into consideration before inviting ‘Chi Chi’ to your garden party.

I Couldn’t Wait

Posted on November 21, 2011 by Tina

In my post, Cast Iron Crisp, I discussed how one stand of Cast Iron Plant (Aspidistra elatior), in my gardens, suffered leaf burn this past summer.

The plants have been in that spot for more than a decade and have never had this sort of damage.

The garden receives dappled shade most of the day, until the late afternoon blast of hot, west sun. The plants that are in front and to the side of the Cast Iron are all sun lovers and thrived with no ill effects from the exceptional drought and heat.

My assumption about the damage this year is that it was caused by the extremely hot (more than 70 days above 100 degrees) temperatures that Austin experienced during summer 2011. Originally, I planned to prune the Cast Iron in winter and observe what happens next year and if it is as hot again and similar damage occurs, I would replace the plants.

Yeah, right.

I can’t wait that long.

So, once I’ve dug out the sun-burned plants, what do I replace the Cast Iron Plant with?

I wanted something that I don’t already have, that can take mostly shade, but won’t burn up with the death rays of the west sun and something that won’t need much water, given the very real possibility of Stage 3 water restrictions in the foreseeable future.

I love the native red Turk’s Cap (Malvaviscus arboreus) and have many of those shrubs in my gardens. I used to have a White Turk’s Cap and enjoyed it as well, but moved it and it didn’t survive its transplantation. I’ve never been quite as enthralled with the Pam’s Pink Turk’s Cap (Malvaviscus drummondii ‘Pam Puryear’), although I’ve grown to like it more after observing it at Zilker Botanical Gardens (in the Butterfly Garden) and in private gardens around Austin. According to those who grow it, it’s as hardy and xeric as the red Turk’s Cap. So, I decided to try two Pink Turk’s Cap as the replacements for the fried Cast Iron Plant.

I laid out the exact spot where I want the Turk’s Cap and adjusted the soaker hose to pass over the root zone of each plant.

I dug ’em in, watered ’em and mulched ’em.

Because it’s late in the growing season, I opted for gallon pots each with a large root base to better ensure survival odds through winter. At maturity, these two plants should be four to five feet tall.

Viewing from the street (toward the tree), the Turk’s Cap will fill in the space behind the Mahonia (Mahnonia repens) and in front and to the right of the Cast Iron, thus shading the remaining Cast Iron Plant from the sun during the hellish summer months. The small Giant Lirope (Lirope muscari) in the front/center of the photo, is a transplant from another part of my garden and will eventually be about three times its current size.

Viewing from the tree side of the garden (toward the street), a seedling Chile Pequin (Capsicum annuum var. glabriusculum), is to the right of the Giant Liriope and left of the Mahonia and will fill in the area in front of where the Turk’s Cap is planted.

I opted to leave the section of Cast Iron Plant which was not sun-damaged.

I think this is a good solution to the Cast Iron sun-burn problem. My greatest concern is planting during the continuing drought. My hope is that I’m ahead of possible severe water restrictions with enough time for the xeric Pam’s Turk’s Cap to establish itself.

Wish them (and me), good luck. And, think about what you can do to replace drought/sun damaged plants, inappropriately placed, with better suited options.

Tardy Again! This Time to Foliage Follow-up

Posted on November 17, 2011 by Tina

Like Pam of Digging, I’ve also admired the landscaping at the North Star Home Center in Austin. I live near this commercial site and drive by often. I greatly appreciate that the owners of the property chose xeric, mostly regional plants to landscape with, rather than the typical needy and boring turf. I’ve long admired the combination of the deep purple of the Purple Heart (Tradescantia pallida) combined with the blue-green of the Agave and Sotol in that garden. It is a stunning contrast. Inspired by the beauty of this commercial garden, I planted an Agave (Agave americana) in concert with a long-established group of Purple Heart.

This area is part-shade, so the Purple Heart doesn’t bloom much and the Agave will be slower growing than in full sun. The tree that shades the spot is in decline, so I expect in the next few years to have more sun in this spot.

In Pam’s post, the Purple Heart is in full sun. In my gardens there are six areas where Purple Heart is planted and all are part to full shade. It’s a very versatile ground cover. It’s especially nice planted with evergreens such as Cast Iron Plant (Aspidistra elatior) and Giant Lirope (Lirope muscari).

It tends to bloom more with more sun and sometimes has a tinge of green in the leaves. In shade it remains a deep purple, usually with a few blooms and attendant bees.

Purple Heart can be a bit invasive, so in a cultivated garden, one must take a shovel or sharpshooter to it from time-to-time to keep it in bounds.

Every spring, I have to dig some of the Purple Heart out of this group to prevent encroachment into (from left to right), the Mexican Honeysuckle (Justicia spicigera), the Rock Rose (Pavonia lasiopetala), the Chile Pequin (Capsicum annuum var. glabriusculum) and Yarrow (Achillea spp.).

Purple Heart dies to the ground with the first freeze, but in Central Texas, it is root hardy. In northern climates, it can be grown as a container plant. It is not deer resistant.

Purple Heart is a native to Mexico and an extremely tough plant–it works well in most soil types and with minimal irrigation. It is a beautiful foliage ground cover that adds color to any garden. It’s an easy pass-along plant. So find a gardening friend who has Purple Heart, snip a branch or two, stick in the ground and enjoy for years to come.