A beautiful low mounting perennial that makes great ground covering with its velvet green leaves. It also blooms continuously from spring to late fall.
Ruellia humilis (prairie petunia) commonly known as wild petunia is native to eastern and central U.S. It holds large and abundant flowers that makes this plant attractive to gardens, especially placing them along the border, or in a rock gardens.It is a perennial which occurs in dryish, soils in open woods, glades, prairies and fields throughout the except for the far southwestern lowlands. It blooms from May to October and has lavender to lilac flowers which appears in clusters in the upper leaf axils. There are several different variations of shape and hairiness of the leaves, depending on the local ecotype.
|Botanical Name||Ruellia humilis|
|Common Name||prairie petunia|
|USDA Zone||4 thru 8|
|Light Requirement||Full Sun to Part Shade|
|Season(s) of interest||summer, fall|
|Height and Spread||1.5-2ft x 1.5-2ft (45-60cm x 45-60cm)|
|Flower Color||Purple, Pink, White|
|Attracts Wildlife||Hosts Caterpillars of Butterflies/Moths, Attracts Pollinators,|
|Additional Information||Native to Chicago Region. Native range: Pennsylvania west to Iowa, south to Texas, and east to northern Florida.|
|Location in Lurie Garden||East Meadow, West Meadow, Northwest Light Plate, Northeast Light Plate, Southwest Light Plate, Southeast Light Plate, Southeast Dark Plate, Southwest Dark Plate, East Dark Plate, North Dark Plate|