Asystasia gangetica
It is a weak, thin-stemmed plant, but the stems may be at least 5 m long. The stems are highly branched so that the plant normally forms a dense ground cover. As ground cover, it has a number of problems:
- It is very invasive. Where ever the stem touches the ground, it puts down roots. I t needs constant cutting back as it grows very fast.
- The soil needs to be kept damp, so grown in the ground, you can expect a massive die-back in hot weather, even if you water heavily (so now you have a mess of dead stems, with a few live ones in amongst them).
- In the soil, it can only survive the heat in the shade, but prefers partially sun.
To keep the plant compact, I prefer to grow it in a pot inside a 1 m high tube of canes and then allow it to hang down to the ground (so the stems are now 2 m long). However, it is still very invasive and will jump from pot to pot, putting down roots at every opportunity. In a pot, it is easier to keep the soil damp, so it can survive the heat with little problem. In a large pot (for example, it covers the soil of the large Frangipani pot shown at the bottom of the "Watering" section), it can even survive the summer sunshine.
Asystasia is winter flowering. The normal variety is mauve, but I also have white and cream varieties. However, the white variety is not very successful, having small flowers and a not very vigorous plant.
- It is very invasive. Where ever the stem touches the ground, it puts down roots. I t needs constant cutting back as it grows very fast.
- The soil needs to be kept damp, so grown in the ground, you can expect a massive die-back in hot weather, even if you water heavily (so now you have a mess of dead stems, with a few live ones in amongst them).
- In the soil, it can only survive the heat in the shade, but prefers partially sun.
To keep the plant compact, I prefer to grow it in a pot inside a 1 m high tube of canes and then allow it to hang down to the ground (so the stems are now 2 m long). However, it is still very invasive and will jump from pot to pot, putting down roots at every opportunity. In a pot, it is easier to keep the soil damp, so it can survive the heat with little problem. In a large pot (for example, it covers the soil of the large Frangipani pot shown at the bottom of the "Watering" section), it can even survive the summer sunshine.
Asystasia is winter flowering. The normal variety is mauve, but I also have white and cream varieties. However, the white variety is not very successful, having small flowers and a not very vigorous plant.