Skip to main content

Justicia betonica White Shrimp Plant and Purple Porter Weed, Stachytarpheta jamaicensis

Purple Porter Weed, Stachytarpheta jamaicensis



Justicia betonica, White Shrimp Plant


Here is a photo of the perennial Justicia betonica, White Shrimp Plant in my butterfly garden. The plant likes shade or morning sun. It blooms late summer on into the Spring if there are no freezes. It is easily propagated and makes a stunning filler for the garden area. I produced this one from cuttings. It is 2 years old. It bloomed the second year. I have seen hummingbirds and hawk moths nectaring from it.


The purple bloom next to it is coming from the Purple Porterweed, Stachytarpheta jamaicensis. The Purple Porterweed is an exceptional nectar source for hummingbirds and butterflies. It likes dappled shade and grows tall sometimes 4-6' if your soil is rich and you water well. Keep the blooms deadheaded so that the plant will continually produce more nectar for your visitors. the Stachytarpheta comes in coral, red, white and purple colors. You can easily prune both of these plants in early Spring or late summer to encourage greater bloom cycles and reduce the height.






Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Happiness

I can do all things through him who strengthens me...

The Septic System Landscaping Dilema

Here is a photo of the landscaping around our aerobic septic system   http://www.damnseptictank.com/ holding tanks prior to removal of landscaping. The variegated shrubs and sago palm were babies when I planted them. The red shrimp plants were frequently visited by hummingbirds and swallowtail butterflies.  I purchased the pastel pink crape myrtles from Cornelius nurseries on Dairy Ashford when I was an employee there in 96'. They were only supposed to grow 18 feet but at the time of removal they were 30 feet. Needless to say their roots were tickled pink to be on top of the septic tanks. I had to remove the landscaping because the roots of our 70' tall gorgeous bald cypress tree had invaded the septic tanks. Whatever I chose to put in place of the previous landscaping had to have shallow roots.  So, for the first season I decided to put down some native wildflower mix I purchased from the Wildseed Farm in Fredericksburg.   http://www.wildseedfarms.com/ I also put

Fairies In A Jar

Saw this photo on Pinterest, thought I'd share.  I remember catching fireflies in a mason jar at my grandmothers house during the summer months spent in Plaucheville, Louisiana.  What a cool activity for after sunset with the children.  I would imagine you could place the contents of the glow stick into a recycled plastic water bottle for the young ones. Photo and directions were copied from Pinterest. How To Make Fairies In A Jar This is something everyone will love you can just imagine the look on your childs face when they see this and its something they will never forget so its worth a little work on this one. FAIRIES IN A JAR DIRECTIONS: 1. Cut a glow stick and shake the contents into a jar. Add diamond glitter 2. Seal the top. perthmedias.com