Mexican Petunia

The Mexican Petunia is another example of a highly invasive but beautiful plant sold in most garden centers.  Home owners buy this petunia because it grows quickly, blooms for a long time, and will survive draught and frost.  One reason that I bought this plant was for the color of the blooms.  It turned out to be a colorful and long lasting addition to the Back Forty Park.

The Mexican Petunia is listed as a Category 1 by the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council.  Now, what exactly does that mean?  I checked it out and to quote from the Council, a plant is put on this list when it is "altering native plant communities by displacing native species, changing community structure or ecological functions or hybridizing with natives."  This is serious business.

Mexican Petunia

The Mexican Petunia thrives in any soil condition and climate from the the prairie and pastures to the woods and the river banks.  It requires little care.  The trumpet shaped flowers are deep purple growing solitary or in clusters at the tips of the stems.

The petunia re-sprouts from its root stock and it is easy to pull them up to keep them from spreading.  It does not have massive rhizomes and it is not a climber.  It does need careful monitoring.  From time to time, I hand pull the entire plants to remove them and control the spread of his handsome plant.

There is, however, a specific area where I don't mind having this plant grow to prevent entry to the Back Forty.  It makes a better looking deterrent than a fence.

Thank you for visiting my blog.