Hardiness zones
Sunset 12-24
USDA 8 (freeze damage), 9-11

Landscape Use: Foliar and floral accent and/or filler shrub for landscape borders, even streetscapes. Versatile shrub for use in mesic and oasis landscape design themes. Works well with Spanish architecture.

Form & Character: Mostly herbaceous perennial shrub, dark purple cast, succulent appearance, tropical.

Growth Habit: Shrubby and unruly, quick to establish and grow to 3 to 6' with equal spread. Becomes lush and full with age. Spreads to form clumping colonies by underground rhizomes .

Foliage/texture: Leaves elongate-linear to 12", much shorted if plants are grown in dry site, entire to undulate, petioles to 3/4" long, medium texture

Flowers & fruits: Flowers terminal on elongated, auxiliary peduncles, corolla to 1 1/2" long, tube about 1/2" across, expanded above, lobes rounded. Fruit inconspicuous.

Seasonal color: Deep purple foliage is colorful year round. In Phoenix, white, pink, blue to mostly violet flowers are produced in all but coldest but winter.

Temperature: Freeze intolerant, but heat loving, except for dwarf cultivars which might need some protection from west summer exposures when young.

Light: Full sun to partial shade

Soil: Tolerant of some alkalinity, but prefers acidic to neutral soils

Watering: This shrub is very responsive to landscape irrigation. Thrives with regular and frequent irrigations especially during summer.

Pruning: Prune to shape anytime. Except for dwarf cultivars, often headed back severely to the ground in winter.

Propagation: Cutting, seed

Disease and pests: Spider mites

Additional comments: Escaped from cultivation in SE US. Popular cultivar `Katie' is dwarf 10 to 12" tall, with violet flowers. Best used with drip irrigation. In flood irrigated landscapes, this shrub might become invasive. Dwarf pink ('Chi Chi') and white ('Alba') flowering cultivars are available. Works well with Tecoma stans, Bougainvillea, and many others with complementary flower colors for a tropical landscape feel.