Strobilanthes Gossypinus

Persian Shield

Strobilanthes Gossypinus is a species that has stunning foliage and is sometimes called Persian Shield, which is weird because it’s actually from the southern part of India.  It’s a small to medium size evergreen shrub with opposed leaves.  The foliage is a very pretty silvery, grey-green colour with a slight felty texture.  Each leaf is covered in very fine hairs.  They grow extremely well in pots and are a great contrast border plant, growing to reach a height of approximately 1 to 1.5m in good growing conditions.  The shrubs form a pleasing rounded shape and are reasonably drought tolerant once established. 

Strobilanthes looks fantastic planted in a scheme with Agave ‘Blue Glow’, blue chalk sticks, dichondra, green santolina and kalanchoe.

This is a great coastal plant that enjoys part-shade to full sun and a well-drained, rich soil.  Being a tropical plant it does need protection from the frost and good drainage in the colder months is essential. Growing it in a pot is great because you can bring it indoors in winter.

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