Strobilanthes rankanensis

Zoom

Price:  £5.00 –+ Add to Basket Family:  Acanthaceae Main Season:  Summer Flower Colour:  Blue Leaf Colour:  Green Foliage:  Deciduous Position:  Sun Soil Type:  Ordinary, medium loam Height:  90cm to 1.2m (3' to 4') Peat Free?  Yes Hardiness Guide:  RHS H5 minimum -10C to -15C Pot Size:  1.4L Availability:      Approx. 3 in stock View our Pot Size guide:

Wonderful upright bushy plants with rich green foliage and branched stems of purple-blue trumpet shaped flowers from midsummer to autumn. Semi-evergreen in sheltered sites. Drained soil in sun, 1.2m.

Strobilanthes rankanensis is one of those perennials that has been around a fair while but never been widely available for some reason - this deserves to be much more widely grown.  Strobilanthes do have a bit of a reputation of not being very hardy but this species has easily survived -16°C here, even re-shooting from 30-40cm up the stems that year.

It will try and retain it's leaves overwinter but cold weather will cause them to be dropped, especially if in a windy site.  The stems are usually retained and rather like a Fuchsia, it will sprout from ground level or higher in the spring.

Very pretty rich coloured flowers for many weeks (even months).