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njdevil_gw

Ruellias not coming back

njdevil
9 years ago

Hi, I planted 2 purple ruellia plants last year and they have not started growing yet. I've been looking for info on them online and one person said they are usually one of the first to come back in the spring. The stems die and you're supposed to remove them right? The plant starts from scratch every year....in the exact same spot as the old one? I am hoping they will come back.

Comments (11)

  • TexasRanger10
    9 years ago

    Nope, they are late in coming back, real late. Who ever said that must live in a warmer zone where they don't freeze back. Maybe they live in Florida & they mean they are one of the earliest to bloom.

  • njdevil
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    thank you!!

  • laceyvail 6A, WV
    9 years ago

    If you have Ruellia humilis, you'll have them everywhere. They shoot their seed.

  • njdevil
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Well, a few weeks ago I put down banner material around them and the area they are in. I am tired of landscape material for weeds not working, so I got heavy duty stuff. So I'm assuming the ruellia will only come back in the original locations since the other areas are covered up. If the seeds have gone past the area, I would probably just move them, they are so pretty.

  • wantonamara Z8 CenTex
    9 years ago

    My reaction to Ruella not coming back isâ¦. GOOD! They are a huge garden thug here in my neck of the woods. I have been hit in the eye by flying seed. I had to sell my house and move to be rid of them.

  • njdevil
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    There is absolutely no sign of life, I don't think they are coming back. I can't believe it would take this long (May).

  • TulsaRose
    9 years ago

    Most Ruellia species are winter hardy to USDA Zone 8 (marginally hardy in Zone 7 with protection and mulch)

    I have Ruellia simplex 'Purple Showers' in a protected, micro-climate that comes back reliably. The new growth has just appeared in the last few days. This cultivar does not produce seed, but spreads by rhizomes.

    This photo was taken in June.

  • njdevil
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Yep mine looked just like that. Thanks for the info. It's possible our winter was too cold. You remove the dead branches in the winter, right? I broke them off at the base and figured new "shoots" would come up.

  • TulsaRose
    9 years ago

    I usually cut them back to the ground in late winter \ early spring. I'm sorry your plants probably didn't make it through the winter. They would be considered a tender perennial or an annual in zone 6.

  • rusty_blackhaw
    9 years ago

    An unusually cold winter + Ruellia could well mean no plants this year in zone 6.

    If whatever species/hybrid it is is marginal in z. 6, it still might be worth trying again.

    I never found Ruellia hybrids to be especially thuggy in the Gulf Coast region, but maybe that was because I was battling other thugs (like Passiflora "Incense", which was capable of submarining under sidewalks to pop up in new places).

  • gyr_falcon
    9 years ago

    I love this plant, but am about to give up on it because it has to be confined to a container due to a lack of garden space and its running tendencies. If it didn't get so huge, I'd just let it run. Container growing is fine for year one, then it gets so pot bound that it requires watering every day, even though the base sits in a saucer of water. The real difficulty is that splitting and repotting mean all of the old soil and roots need to be disposed of in the trash. :( I hate the waste. But I can understand your wanting to have this plant growing in your garden, njdevil. There is something special about those flowers.