Are you absolutely sure that they were Ruellia simplex, and not some other similar, but more northerly species like maybe Ruellia humilis? I can't find any proof of R. simplex growing north of zone 7a., and it's supposed to be hardy to 8a.

Although I was interested to learn of Ruellia humilis from you, I'm pretty sure I identified it right. I'm not sure the plants I found growing up the street from me in zone 6 were planted as annuals and will die in the winter, or as I question- will they come back from the roots maybe? I'm including photos I took of the plants.

And this article https://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/4218 made me wonder about coming back from roots, although she is not clear about what zone she is in, because Maryland zones are 8-6 .

" When real cold threatened my Ruellia, I took cuttings. They rooted easily, givng me assurance of another year of Ruellia. And when the soil warmed in April, my original Ruella began to sprout. It had survived with minimal protection. Not only were leaves popping from the base of last year's stems, rhizomes were spreading in the root zone."

Sue, you're right, it does look like simplex with the longer, pointer leaves. I wondered exactly what zone that Maryland person was in. Maybe just to knock on your neighbor's door and ask them. I've had Ruellia homilies for years. It has a lot of volunteers that show up in strange places.

Jay, I too wish the girl that worte that article would have given the planting zone she is in, otherwise that info is mostly useless. The plants down the street from me were not a neighbor's, they were planted at a school, maybe I will run into their gardener working one day. I'm intrigued with Ruellia homilies, and googled them but they all look so different. If you have a photo of yours, and have time to share it here, I'd like to see it. It would be nice to have a hardy Ruellia. All the same I'm determined to grow Ruellia Simplex even if I have to overwinter it inside, and put it out each summer.

Sherry, what garden zone are you in? Too much of a good thing in some states I've read!

I'm in southeast Mississippi, Zone 8B. It's hot and humid here!

Sherry

I finally got my Ruellia looking good enough to photograph. What is it? Ruellia homilis? Homilies was something to do with church lol. It's the darn autocorrect. I never spelled it wrong.

Thanks for sharing a photo of your Ruellia Humilis (yeah autocorrect is annoying as much as helpful LOL!) They're lavender right? It's kind of hard to tell in photos sometimes. I like those and I'm glad to learn about them.. I have already brought my little Ruellia Simplex inside for the winter and put it in a window with the most sun I have. It would be nice to grow the ones you have in the photo since they come back each year. Any personal experience or input shared on the Ruellia Humils is appreciated!

My ruellia homilis is a very tough plant. It has a tremendous will to survive, and is difficult to get rid of ( but why would you want to?). It loves growing out of the rocks lining the beds, and that's where volunteers start 97% of the time. If you pull out small out of bounds seedlings early no problem. The is more whitish tho. A very, very washed out lavender. I can see why you like the R. simplex so much. It's long leaves and dark flowers make it very bold looking. I think the flower color is variable in this species and possibly the whole genus. If I had been culling all the light colored plant my current population would be darker. There are a couple more Ruellia species that are native to Pennsylvania.

https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=ruca4

https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/woodland/plants/sm_petunia.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruellia_pedunculata

Robin Young of NPR tried to carry on normally after reading something that made her laugh. Resurfacing laughter interrupted her every two or three sentences for a minute and a half. She had read some of the anecdotes in a piece titled "Damn you, Autocorrect!" Her delightful reaction was to a lady's account of texting with her husband as she went from airline arrival gate towards where he was to arrive in the car. She received: "Booty free yet?"

(He was asking whether she had reached the point of the duty-free shop.)

I still have to proofread everything or suffer the consequences. Just a couple days ago I wrote "I had a Kimodo dragon hosta in a pot" and it came out "I had a Kimodo dragon hostage in a 1 gallon pot" . It was so hilarious that I left it. lol

Even more if it were "kimono", as I was expecting.

I spelled something wrong again didn't I? Kimono? That really adds a spin to it.

That is hilarious about the Kimodo Dragon "Hostage" LOL, I always appreciate a good laugh!