When you stroll through a nursery with your wife and she points to a plant and says, “I want that,” you gladly comply with her request. It happened a few days ago when the object of my wife’s desire was a yellow-flowered cultivar of black-eyed Susan vine (Thunbergia alata). Typically, you see this vine with orange flowers but, in addition to the lemon yellow that we brought home, you will occasionally see black-eyed Susan vine with white, pink, peach, red, or bronze blooms. There is even a variety whose tangerine petals are bordered with amber stripes. Black-eyed Susan vine is a prolific bloomer whose five-petaled pinwheel flowers blanket its leaves from spring until fall. Its tendrils give away its status as a climber and, with this knowledge, I have situated mine in a planter at the base of a patio post although you can also utilize it as a ground cover if you choose. You could also place a trellis in a pot and have it grow vertically there or plant it in a hanging basket and see it climb up the chain from which the basket is suspended.
Regarding this irrepressible climber, the information provided by Sunset Western Garden Book is erroneous, as it claims that black-eyed Susan vine only grows as a perennial within a few miles of the ocean, but otherwise dies in the winter. Although this and other Thunbergia species are sensitive to cold, even if they suffer dieback when it freezes, they generally revive the following spring. Sometimes even Sunset Western Garden Book – known as the gardeners’ bible – can make a mistake.
Loren Zeldin, a master gardener in Reseda – in the heart of the San Fernando Valley – reports that his Thunbergia vines have flourished for decades and, even after being damaged by frost return robust as ever when the weather warms. In this context, blue sky vine (Thunbergia grandiflora) is also worthy of note. It has enormous deep lavender blue trumpet blooms and tough tuberous roots; it may die back to the ground in a freeze but then exhibit explosive growth of ten feet or more the next year.
Let me say another word about what attracted my wife to the vine she had to have: it was the sulphur or butter-yellow color of its blooms. Such a muted yellow is not often encountered in the plant world. In general, it seems that if a plant is going to produce flowers, it does so without restraint and brilliant colors are more commonly encountered than subdued ones. But a pale, luminescent yellow offers a powerful contrast to the bright pinks, reds, oranges, and blues of more common flowers, bringing out their flare all the more. You do see sulphur yellow in certain roses, irises, and Marguerite daisies and there is a new hybrid of a petunia and a calibrachoa from PanAmerican Seed — a so-called petchoa — that sports flowers in this same category of yellow.
Thunbergia vines – named for Swedish plant explorer Carl Peter Thunberg – belong to the Acanthaceae family of plants. Each member of this family has an alluring aspect that you will find it hard to forget once you have experienced it. Each plant is of a unique character, and all are highly worthy of taking up space in your garden. Most of them thrive in half-day sun, although they also do well enough in full sun and a species known as bear’s breeches (Acanthus mollis) actually prefers shady locations. Acanthus comes from a Greek word meaning thorn and references the spiny leaf margins, which may be soft to prickly, of this and other Acanthaceae species.
Much could be written to extol bear’s breeches’ virtues, but the most laudatory description would still fall short. It produces enormously lush emerald green leaves with deeply cut teeth on its margins. It thrives in shady locations and can grow for extended periods without water. Should the leaves droop, they can be revived with water but even should they die, you need only cut them down to the ground for new foliage to take their place. The secret of this plant’s resilience is its rhizomes which keep the plant alive no matter what; in other words, it’s impossible to kill it. Its flower spikes grow up to four feet tall or taller and consist of white to pinkish blooms hooded with purplish bracts.
Moving into the sun, let me sing the praises of shrimp plant (Justicia brandegeana), whose flower form matches its name and makes it the most easily identifiable plant in the Acanthus family. This is a three-foot-tall shrub that blooms nearly all the time with very little water and may be grown individually in pots to collectively in a hedge. Long-blooming shrimp plant relatives of similar stature include pink Brazilian plume flower (Justicia carnea), the orange blooming Mexican honeysuckle (Justicia spicigera), white shrimp plant (Justicia betonica), yellow jacobinia (Justicia aurea), and the yellow and pink Justicia ‘Fruit Salad.’ The related ribbon plant (Hypoestes aristata) blooms non-stop with lavender ribbons, while the polka dot plant (Hypoestes phyllostachya) shows off pink, red, or what dots on its leaves when planted to a northern exposure outdoors or to a sunny exposure indoors.
California native of the week: Chuparosa means hummingbird in Spanish and so it is an appropriate common name for Justicia californica due to the love that hummingbirds have for this plant. It flowers heavily from fall to spring but goes deciduous in the summer unless watered occasionally. Flowering will also be enhanced with some irrigation although it can survive fine without it. Chuparosa can grow in full sun to light shade conditions. Red tubular flowers are typically seen when encountering a chuperosa but named cultivars such as Dick Tilforth and Tecate Gold with yellow flowers are also available. Since flowers are produced on young shoots, thinning out old ones as fall approaches will beautify and invigorate the plant. Old wilted flowers can be dispatched with a strong stream of water from a hose.
Please send questions, comments, and photos to joshua@perfectplants.com.
