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Strobilanthes dyerianus (Persian Shield) - A beautiful evergreen (frost free areas) sub-shrub that can grow to 3 to 4 feet tall by 2 to 3 feet wide but is most often used as a summer bedding plant. The foliage has a seersucker texture with softly hairy, green-veined pinkish-purple leaves that have a silver iridescence on the upper surface and solid purple undersides. The 1 1/4-inch-long violet flowers, born in clusters in spring.
Plant in shade or filtered light in a well-drained soil and irrigate regularly. It is deer and rabbit resistant. Evergreen (ever purple) in mild locations and can resprout from the ground in colder climates - mulch around base for best results and trim flowers spent off to keep the plant more attractive and repeated pinching to keep growth in check is also beneficial. A nice plant for containers, though seems to only live on for a few years in our climate.
This plant comes from Burma (Myanmar), India and China. The name for the genus comes from the Greek word 'strobilos' meaning "a cone" and 'anthos' "a flower" from the form of the buds and emergent flowers and the specific epithet honors the botanist Sir William Turner Thiselton-Dyer (1843-1928) a Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. We grew this plant from 2004 to 2007.
The information about Strobilanthes dyerianus 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. |
