Mexican Petunia

Mexican Petunia produces pretty purple flowers and grows easily in Florida very easily. This is one plant where knowing how it spreads is just as important as knowing how to grow it.

About This Plant

Mexican Petunia has upright stems, narrow leaves and purple, petunia-like flowers. It tolerates Florida heat well and can make an attractive flowering patch.

Planting Guide

If you already have Mexican Petunia, think carefully about where you allow it to grow. A container or other genuinely confined growing area makes it easier to manage than an open garden bed.

Sun

It grows in full sun to partial shade. Good light generally encourages flowering.

Water

Water new plants regularly while they become established. Established plants are tough and adaptable, although plants in containers need more attention during hot, dry periods.

Soil

Mexican Petunia tolerates a wide range of growing conditions, which is one of the reasons it can spread so successfully.

How Big Does It Get?

Plants can form dense patches as stems and underground growth expand into surrounding areas.

Propagation

Mexican Petunia can reproduce from seed and vegetatively. That makes deliberate propagation easy but it also makes unwanted spreading easy.

General Care

Trim plants as needed to keep them neat and within their intended area. Watch for new growth appearing beyond the boundaries you've given the plant.

A Florida Note: This Plant Can Be Invasive

The wild form of Mexican Petunia (Ruellia simplex) is considered invasive in Florida. It can spread beyond the garden and displace other vegetation.

If you're growing an existing plant, containment matters. Keeping it in a pot can help, but don't dispose of live roots, stems or seed-producing material where they may establish elsewhere.

There are also cultivated forms of Mexican Petunia that were developed to be sterile or less likely to spread by seed. If you're buying a new plant, look for a Florida-friendly sterile cultivar rather than planting the wild form.

From My Garden

I grow this plant because the flowers are pretty, but this is one I don't want wandering wherever it pleases. If you have it, enjoy the flowers and keep an eye on where the plant is going.

Sometimes being a gardener means knowing when a pretty plant needs some boundaries.