A rounded shrub from the Sonoran Desert of Baja California and Sonora, with pale stems, green leaves and purple, petunia-like flowers. It takes full sun and reflected heat on little water and blooms over a long season, starting with a big flush in spring.
Living with it in the Phoenix Valley
Watering
Follow the shrub schedule in our Landscape Care guide. As a desert native, it should be kept on the lean side once established. It needs well-drained soil and does not need fertilizer.
Pruning
Its natural rounded shape needs little help, and it doesn’t take well to formal shearing. After the danger of frost has passed, cutting it back by about half refreshes it. Every few years, a hard spring cutback to about a foot removes old, woody growth.
Cold
A hard frost can strip leaves or burn the tips, but it bounces back quickly once the weather warms.
How our designers use it
Color in hot spots
It handles reflected heat from walls and paving, where many flowering shrubs struggle.
Filler between accents
Its soft, rounded form fills the space between agaves, cactus and boulders.
Habitat gardens
Hummingbirds visit the flowers, and several butterflies use it as a host plant.
Good to know
Around the pool
No thorns and low litter, so it is an easy shrub near the pool. Expect some spent flowers during bloom.
