Hardiness zones:
Sunset 12-13
USDA 9-10 (arid regions are best)
Landscape Use: Accent, informal hedge, background
Form & Character: Evergreen shrub, upright to rounded, looks like Texas sage
Growth Habit: Moderate to 5' (slightly higher with regular irrigation) with equal spread, can maintain as 3' hedge
Foliage/texture: 1" long green, opposite leaves on bright gray stems, viscid, medium fine texture
Flowers & fruits: Tubular pale purple to violet flowers to 1.0" wide on purple peduncles. Fruit inconspicuous
Seasonal color: Flowers present during warm times of year, heaviest in spring and again in fall
Temperature: Hardy to 20 to 25oF, sparsely foliated in winter and even defoliates during severe cold snap but quickly recovers
Light: Full sun
Soil: Tolerant
Watering: Drought tolerant but responds to supplemental water, especially when young
Pruning: Though occasional heading back will increase canopy density, most Baja ruellia in Phoenix urban landscapes end up being sheared by plant hacks into cylindrical or oblong beerkegs along with Leucophyllum.
Propagation: Cutting, seed
Disease and pests: White flies on succulent growth, spider mites during late summer
Additional comments: Looks spindly without supplemental irrigation. A good less vigorous landscape substitute for Leucophyllum frutescens var. green cloud. A taxonomic note: Baja ruellia is a close relative to R. californica which grows exclusively in Baja.
