Plant in a light shade, part sun or in coastal full sun. In full sun this plant tends to stay smaller and more compact with leaves that have a more intense purple color to their undersides. Best in a fairly well-drained soil amended with humus and water regularly. To keep compact and to promote better branching, pinch regularly. It looks great in mass plantings, as a small specimen shrub or in a container. Although this plant is considered a tender perennial, it will tolerate a light frost and should prove hardy to 25 to 30 F.

The name for the genus comes from the Greek words 'plektron' meaning a "spur" and 'anthos' meaning "flower" in reference to the spur that is found at the base of the corolla tube of the type species Plectranthus fruticosus. The cultivar 'Mona Lavender' is the result of hybridizing Plectranthus saccatus with P. hilliardiae ssp. australe 'Magwa'. The seed parent, Plectranthus saccatus, comes the Eastern Cape to northern KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa and has the largest flowers in the genus while P. hilliardiae ssp. australe comes from a restricted distribution along the river gorges from Pt. St. Johns to Fraser Gorge in northern Eastern Cape Province. The cultivar P. hilliardiae ssp. australe 'Magwa' that was used as the pollen parent was a nearly hairless form with a shiny deep green upper surface and dark purple undersides - the great strategy of combining these two plants is evident with the results. The hybridization work was done at Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens by Roger Jaques in the late 1990s and the plant was released in 2002 and was introduced in North America with the cultivar name 'Plepalila' by Ball Horticultural Company and held US plant patent PP13,858, which has since expired. We grew this attractive plant from 2004 until 2020. 

The information about Plectranthus Mona Lavender ['Plepalila'] displayed on this web page is based on our research conducted in the nursery's horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also include observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments we receive from others and welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share cultural information that would aid others in growing this plant.