A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Plants and Flowers Forum Mystery Plants? What is this plant or shrub?

Anyone have an idea what I have here, I think it is a shrub?
Really cute too....

Let me know!

Looks like it could be purple Perilla?

Persian Shield, maybe? I love it!

Alan,
Wrong
I have purple perilla and it isnt that.

Thanks for lookin.

b

Landofoz,

I will look up Persian shield.

SOme one sent me a cutting last fall and here it is.
It is in the woody texture.

Thanks

Yep, Strobilanthes dyerianus, "Persian Shield"
A very cool plant, I absolutely love growing this one!

zuzu,

Tell me more about it ..Is it a shrub, perennial , sun or shade?????????/Questions..

Hope that is it .

Barb, I buy one every year and it never survive the winter in my house. Great job keeping it alive and that pretty.

I put it in my pots in bright light and it likes moisture. It grew to 3' I guess you could say bushy. It probably is a bush in warmer climates.

Your plant is Persian Shield. Its perennial in zone 9/10. In Mi if planted in the ground its used as an annual which can get quite tall and very bushy if ends are pinched back. If planted in a container it will overwinter but needs almost greenhouse conditions. Low light and indoor winter dryness do it in.

Do you keep it inside all summer?
Right now it is in the south shade window.. Likes water.
That is all I know .....
I just stuck it into africian violet mix and it sprouted ..Very slowly.

Try taking a cutting in the fall and see it winters over.

Thanks.
b

Beats me how it survived for me ......But I am glad it did .
Some one sent cuttings in the fall.......Put them in florist foam to root and it did.
It has grown slowly but is really nice now..
Is yours in the shade?

I will take another cutting in the fall .

Thanks for helping.

I have found it to be a tender herbaceous perennial here in my zone 8 garden,
so I think it's just a wee bit more hardy than the books say.
It dies to the ground and then comes back from the roots.

I guess if we had a really bad winter it might not make it,
so I do take some cuttings every fall, just in case.
I grow it in several locations in the garden, from partial to mostly shade.

This is how it looked last year
I liked it in combination with the Celosia spicata.

zuzu,

That is beautiful......Now how did you root the cuttings/
Mine was in florist foam and water....The fine lady sent them like that in the mail......
Certainly is a wonderful bunch on here......

Yours is perfect.. It doesnt bloom does it?
Orchids arent supposed to rebloom in my zone 5 house either, but mine did.

b

They do get some little purple flowers, but they aren't as pretty as the foliage,
I usually just keep them pruned off, just like with Coleus.

As far as rooting goes, I've found that they will root easily in water, or directly in moist potting soil, or florist foam (which is nice if you're planning to ship the cuttings)
or my personal favorite, Forsythe pots.
In other words, it's a great plant for propogators.
Just be sure that you have at least 1 node below water/soil/foam (whatever) level.

In fact, the same way you root Coleus should work for these guys.

It is a rather thirsty booger growing here in my sandy soil,
that's the only down side.

zuzu

The foliage speaks for itself..Gorgous..

Now do you raise Forsythe plants too? I used to , but too pricey for my wallet now.

Thanks for all the help......