Angelonia is a vigorous, herbaceous flowering perennial shrub in the Plantaginaceae family and native to Mexico and the West Indies, Central America and Colombia. It is an upright, glabrous, somewhat bushy, tropical that sprawls, but does not need staking. Angelonia is noted for its long summer bloom of small, two-lipped, snapdragon-like flowers and it does not need deadheading. This plant was formerly in the Scrophulariaceae family. The genus name comes from the Latinized version of the South American vernacular name of one of the species of these perennial herbs and sub-shrubs. Angelonia prefers moist, fertile soils with good drainage in full sun. The plant has some drought tolerance and good tolerance for summer heat and humidity. Space plants 9 to 12 inches apart in the ground. Plants typically grow 12 to 18 inches tall. Plants grown in containers may be difficult to overwinter indoors and many backyard gardeners will treat the plant as an annual and obtain new plants each spring. Cultivars are available in white, blue, and light pink. Use this plant in borders, groups or containers to add a long summer season or color. Insects Diseases and Other Plant Problems: Susceptible to aphids and powdery mildew. Some cultivars have shown excellent resistance to phytophthora root rot or stem rot while other cultivars had poor resistance.
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.
Fills a similar nicheCannaChrysanthemum x morifoliumPetunia x hybrida
Full plant profile
Growing Conditions
Plant type
Annual; Herbaceous Perennial; Shrub
Life cycle
Annual; Perennial
USDA zones
9a, 9b, 10a, 10b, 11a, 11b
Light
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Occasionally Dry
Available space
Less than 12 inches
Mature size
Height: 1 ft. 0 in. - 1 ft. 6 in. | Width: 0 ft. 8 in. - 1 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Medium
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous (1-3 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Erect
Texture
Medium
Foliage
Deciduous
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Opposite
Leaf shape
Lanceolate; Oblong
Leaf margin
Dentate
Leaf value
Fragrant
Leaf size
1-3 inches long, < 1 inch wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Stems are clad with narrow, oblong to lanceolate, green leaves (to 3 inches long) with toothed margins. Foliage is slightly aromatic.
Flower color
Blue; Pink; Purple/Lavender; Variegated; White
Flower value
Fragrant; Good Cut; Showy
Flower form
Spike
Flower shape
Lipped
Flower size
< 1 inch
Flower detail
This plant has 3/4 inch blooms with 5 petals on 8 inch long spikes from June into September. The flower is deep mauve, pink, blue, white, purple or bi-colors. The two-lipped flowers are reminiscent of a snapdragon, hence the common name.