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Rabdosia longituba |
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| | A closeup of the flowers shows the "long tubes" for which this species is named |
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| | Small ice flowers on the dormant stalk in early December; not as impressive as those on its close relative hardy spurflower, but this plant is just one year old |
Woodland plant from Japan. I almost forgot I had planted seedlings in a few places around the garden this year, when I spotted, in late October, some clear blue flowers peeking from a shady corner. Our plants have continued to survive, both the ones I mistakenly planted in a sunny area and the ones that get part shade – and the floral display has gotten more impressive with the years. The blast of blue in late fall is alway a treat.
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We left this plant behind in our Pennsylvania garden (and wish it well); we don't grow it in Houston. About my plant portraits
Visitors to this page have left the following comments| James Cheshire | Jul 08, 2006 | Rabdosia is a synonym of Isodon, so this plant should be called Isodon longitubus. Botany links:
Flora of China
Flora of Japan
The Japanese name is akichouji. |
| Sieglinde Anderson | Oct 06, 2012 | Found your site while trying to find "how to grow" Rabdosia longituba information. I thought this was a perennial but the stems look woody to me. How do you grow this plant? Does it get cut down in the spring to the ground? or is it a semi-shrub that doesn't get cut down at all? I sure wish people selling this like Plant Delights would mention more how-to's.
I look forward to your wise reply since you already know how to grow Rabdosia. Thanks!
At least in our climate, R. longituba is a herbeceous perennial. Although I dont' specifically remember spring maintenance for this plant, I suspect it gets cut down with all the other dead stalks in spring, or it just kind of falls over on its own. Many of the larger plants in Lamiaceae develop a strong, sometimes woody stem, even if their life cycle is herbaceous. |
| Don Galbreath | Oct 23, 2015 | This is the first season I've grown this species. My plant reached 3' tall in fairly heavy shade and in mid-October is covered with luminous blooms. A light frost that took down the tropicals/coleus etc left it untouched. I did not pinch it and it needed staking.
How much sun will it tolerate? I've seen this flower well in the dry shade under hemlocks. Can it be divided?
My own plants appears to have expired - I did not spot them this year. One of mine was growing in close to full sun, and seemed OK, while the other one was under the eave of the house with eastern exposure, so only got morning sun. I didn't ever attempt to divide it, but I assume it would be OK to divide in early spring. |
| Sharon Helgeson | Oct 22, 2019 | I have been growing this plant for years. I never knew what it was although I have searched many times for it, and now I know. I live in Kentucky, and I have grown this plant as a houseplant. It gets a lot of sun where I keep it and doesn't do well in low sun, but does like morning sun, partial sun, and full sun with lots of water. The plant needs to be brought inside when frost/freeze hits. (I have never planted it in the ground here.) It is virtually unkillable! If you do harm it, take cuttings! Put them in water and wait for roots, then pop it back in the pot and in no time it will be in its glory again! I have given cutting from my plant to friends and family, and my mom just recently planted hers in the ground in Florida. I love this plant! In all its glory it is 3' x 3' ish (in a container). It blooms like crazy and attracts hummingbirds. |
- Seed from HPS/MAG '05/'06 exchange. Baggy 70F (62%G, 7-21d)
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Last modified:
October 30, 2010
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