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This tropical evergreen perennial or small shrub is a shade lover and a perfect choice for bringing dazzling color to the darker areas of your garden. The large coarse leaves are about 8 inches long by 2 inches wide. They're a rich green and depending on the variety they are oblong and pointed on the end. The smaller varieties grow in mounds about 2 feet high while others are more shrublike and grow up to 7 ft in height and 6 ft wide. In summer the plant covers itself with large showy spikes of flowers in shades from white, pink, red, orange, purple and yellow. The flowers are tubes, flared at the mouth and curving outward from the center of the spike on which the flowers are arranged.
The justicias that you are likely to encounter in nurseries and catalogs are hybrids. Many are the results of crossing J. carnea with other species member of the genus. Justicia carnea is native to South America and the many other species are distributed in tropical and subtropical areas in both hemispheres.
Culture
Justicias have been popular container and greenhouse plants since the early nineteenth century when they were raised in Victorian conservatories. Use them in pots and containers indoors or in shady entryways, porches and patios. The smaller varieties can be used as a colorful groundcover in shady areas. Larger varieties make great background plants and can be used in mixed hedges. Because they produce lots of flowers throughout the heat of summer, justicia is becoming popular in northern gardens where it is grown as an annual or lifted into pots and wintered indoors. Features Jack Scheper 12/12/98; updated 8/10/04
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