Mine has never bloomed...didn't know it could haha. Well I will take cuttings from it as well as the potato vine and I am planning on bringing in the angelonia as it never winters here. I am thinking of covering the whole little back porch by the pool with plastic and making a greenhouse to winter my lemon tree and some other things...my patchouli plant too as it is almost 3 ft high. I need more space...sigh. c

I've never grown these but would like to. Can anyone help me out?

Ken.....Mary's question isn't about hostas at all, but Strobilanthes. Her question IS appropriate to this or the perennials forum and not the Hosta Forum. Mary, I would worry that the Persian Shield would lose some of its most attractive colors if grown in complete shade. However, you did classify the location as bright shade, so it might be worth a try. I've grown it as a container plant in an area that receives full morning sun, then bright shade from late morning on. Strobilanthes is actually a subshrub, a perennial but typically grown as if it were an annual in non tropical climates.

Hi! A few weeks ago I got a Persian Shield as a gift. I did some research one it and found out that they do better outdoors in a lot of sun and humidity (strike 1 as I have to keep it indoors) and have no south-facing windows (strike 2). In spite of this I wanna try and do what I can to keep this little plant alive. I'm trying to figure out why the older leaves are looking dull and why the leaves are turning brown at the edges, so I'll give you some info regarding my setup Water and soil: For now I have it in a terracotta pot with a well draining soil mix. I water enough to keep the soil moist. At first I read I should be misting it, but after reading lots of posts on this forum about how that's not actually very beneficial for the plant I've stopped doing so. Light: I keep it a couple of inches under my two t5 Sunblaster fluorescent bulbs. Humidity: I read this plant likes high humidity. I have a small apt so no dedicated room for the plants. That means they have to deal with the AC on and the windows closed (it's a humid city and I hate humidity). I thought I could solve this with a pebble tray, but after some research on these forums it seems like this won't have a significant impact and that I should buy an actual humidifier. Now back to the brown leaf problem. Do you think it could be due to the lack of humidity? Could it be that it's too close to the fluorescent bulbs? Or maybe it's something else entirely. I appreciate any advice on solving this problem and any other tips on how to care for this plant!! Pics of the plant: