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Justicia brandegeeana

 
Justicia brandegeeana
Going strong in early November
shrimp plant
Justicia brandegeeana
Woody top growth killed by freeze, but new leaves emerging from the base

Common name shrimp plant
Family acanthaceae
Life cycle tender perennial (Z8-11)
Flowers salmon red (summer-fall)
Size 3-5'
Light sun-part shade
Cultural notes fertile, well drained soil, not too dry

Showy perennial from Mexico, grown for its free-flowering habit. The muted red flowers appear almost year-round on twiggy lax stems that grow to five feet tall, and are popular with butterflies and other pollinators. Pruning can help to give the plants a bushier appearance, and to keep the flowers coming. May be killed to the ground by a hard freeze, but returns in spring in Houston's climate. It does wait much longer to start blooming again when that happens, but is back in form by mid-summer. We bought our plant as an awkward nursery item trained vertically on a few bamboo poles – it was much nicer the next year, when it returned from the ground as a naturally shaped plant.

shrimp plant

In our garden, this plant grows in the following area: back fence border

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