Mexican Petunia ‘Purple Showers’ – Ruellia simplex (Sterile, Live Starter Plant)

Mexican Petunia ‘Purple Showers’ (Ruellia simplex) is a tough, free-flowering perennial that delivers nonstop purple color from late spring until frost. Notably, vigorous, upright clumps grow 3 to 4 feet tall, clad in willowy, lance-shaped green leaves on greenish-purple stems, and topped with rich, velvety-purple, petunia-like trumpet flowers. Each bloom lasts a day but is replaced in an endless succession, right through the heat of summer when many other perennials quit. Best of all, this Mexican Petunia ‘Purple Showers’ is a sterile, seedless cultivar, so you get all the beauty of a Mexican petunia without the aggressive reseeding of the wild type.

Why Grow Mexican Petunia ‘Purple Showers’?

• Nonstop purple blooms – velvety-purple, petunia-like flowers from late spring to frost (often year-round in frost-free zones).
• Sterile & better-behaved – ‘Purple Showers’ does not set seed, so it will not self-sow and spread like the invasive wild species.
• Pollinator magnet – in addition, the trumpet flowers draw swallowtail and other butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds.
• Incredibly tough – also thrives in wet rain gardens and pond edges, yet shrugs off drought, heat, and humidity once established, and it is deer-resistant and salt-tolerant too.
• Bold vertical color – especially good as a back-of-border filler, loose flowering hedge, or container star.

Looking for more flowering color and border plants? Browse our Flowering Plants and Groundcovers & Border Plants collections.

Plant Specifications at a Glance

• Botanical name: Ruellia simplex ‘Purple Showers’ (formerly R. brittoniana / R. tweediana)
• Plant type: Evergreen, clumping flowering perennial (sterile cultivar)
• Plant family: Acanthaceae (the acanthus family)
• Mature size: about 3–4 feet tall and 2–3 feet wide, in upright clumps
• Flowers: Velvety-purple, tubular, petunia-like blooms (to about 1.5 inches) from late spring to frost
• Notable traits: Sterile/seedless; pollinator- and butterfly-friendly; deer-resistant; drought- and salt-tolerant; thrives wet or dry
• Cold Hardiness Zones: 8–11 (may survive zone 7 with winter protection)

Mexican Petunia Care & Growing Guide

In fact, this is one of the most forgiving perennials you can grow. Follow these guidelines:

• Sunlight: Full sun for the heaviest bloom. However, it also performs well in partial shade.
• Water: Follow a regular watering schedule during the first growing season to build a deep root system. Established plants are drought-tolerant. However, it also happily takes wet, boggy spots and pond margins.
• Soil: Adaptable from wet to dry. Generally, though, it prefers moist, fertile, well-drained soil.
• Cold Hardiness Zone: 8–11. In colder areas, grow it in containers and overwinter indoors, or treat it as a fast annual.
• Upkeep: Cut back stems after flowering to encourage more blooms, and tidy old foliage before new leaves emerge. Although sterile, ‘Purple Showers’ can still spread by rhizomes, so divide or edge it to keep it in bounds.

Ways to Use Mexican Petunia in the Landscape

This versatile bloomer thrives where many perennials cannot. Popular uses for Mexican Petunia ‘Purple Showers’ include:

• Back-of-border color and loose flowering hedges
• Also mass plantings and naturalized drifts
• Rain gardens, pond margins, and boggy spots
• Similarly, butterfly, pollinator, and cottage gardens
• Large containers and patio pots

It pairs beautifully with other sun-loving, pollinator-friendly bloomers. For example, gardeners often combine it with the red-flowered Scarlet Sage, the long-blooming Madagascar Periwinkle, or the native Dune Sunflower.

What You’ll Receive

These are live Mexican Petunia ‘Purple Showers’ starter plants, grown and shipped by Carlo’s Plant Farm. Each plant is less than 12 inches tall when we ship it. The listing photos show mature plants of the same species. That way, you can see how yours will look as they grow and bloom. Finally, choose your preferred bundle size using the options above.

Also, due to different state laws, we reserve the right to charge extra fees where necessary to comply.

Ordering, Shipping & Returns

Every order ships free and is insured against loss or damage in transit. For full details on how we pack and send your plants, processing and delivery times, and what to do in the rare case of a problem, please review our Shipping Policy and Terms & Conditions before purchasing. By placing an order, you agree to those terms.

Mexican Petunia FAQ

Growing & Care Questions

Spread, Hardiness & Shipping Questions