Aha! My favorite tender perennial of the year! That's Angelonia angustifolia, called Angelonia (AN gel OWN' ia) as a common name. It comes in several different colors, but the purples and lavenders are my favorite.

There is nothing negative about this plant...it establishes rapidly, thrives in the blazing heat and sun without irrigation, has been totally pest free in my garden, does not require deadheading, withstands strong summer storms and even light hail, and tolerates light frosts without a blink of the eye. The colors do not fade in the heat. Mine are still blooming heavily now, even after three or four frosts.

The hummingbirds in my gardens also visited the Angelonia, flitting from the back yard feeders and flowers to the front beds where the angelonia is all day long.

It apparently does very well in containers, too. I do recommend that when you plant it to give it plenty of room as it really 'beefs up' as soon as it becomes established.

thank you rhizo_1, really appreciate your kindness

You are most welcome.

Rhizo did you buy it as a plant or did you grow it from seeds? I would like to try them next year.

My husband brought a flat (12) of them home one day. I disliked them at first, but I have turned into a HUGE fan. I expect that they would be easy to grow from seed and I might do that next year.

Can't say enough about this little garden workhorse. It cranks! Up until fairly recently it was only available to growers (and therefore the public on a retail level) as a cutting-grown plant. That of course drove the price up because they were expensive to purchase cuttings on, and were typically sold by the pot. The Serena series of seed grown angelonias have come along a few years ago, and this is one case where I feel the seed-grown outshine the vegetatively produced plants.

I switched over to trial the Serena series and found their growth habits to be a bit different from the strains previously sold as cuttings. They will branch more freely and it's not so necessary to do a pinch on them either for branching or repeat blooming. I also found thier height to be more controlled. It's still hard to find angelonia by the flat in our area and when I sold them, I sold them as 'premium' flats, in larger cell packs with a stiffer price. Many of the other local growers continued to sell them at rather high prices by the each.

Yes and no.......when you ask if they're easily started by seed. I'd say even with controlled environment it wasn't my easier crops to grow on as seedlings. It was one I usually ordered in plugs on. But that doesn't mean you won't have luck with them. They are heat loving plants as seedlings and therefore touchy in our climate here in early spring. They are great potted plants, but thrive in the landscape and were a big hit with my groundskeeping customers. Very showy, very dependable.

Thank you Rhizo and calliope. I did a search and my local garden center was suppose to have it this summer I guess I missed that one. They will even do special orders so I will put in a order.