Ruellia elegans, or Red Ruellia, is native to Brazil with bright red trumpet shaped flowers that appear on 6 to 8 inch wand-like stems. The upper petals tend to flare out and back, while the lower one curls out and downward. The blooms attract butterflies and hummingbirds and last from May until frost. The plant tolerates a light frost, but dies back at about 28 degrees. It forms a 12 inch high by 24 inch in diameter mound of soft green, semi-fuzzy foliage. The plant is described as an annual, but because it reseeds and spreads rapidly, it is sometime thought of as a perennial. Diseases, Insects, and Other Plant Problems: Bacterial leaf spots, fungal leaf spots, rust, root rot.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.