Carolina Wild Petunia
Ruellia caroliniana
Lavender-purple trumpets open fresh every morning from midsummer through fall. Compact, drought-tough, and a quick hummingbird favorite.
Typically 1 pint–1 gal · $9–$30 · final price at pickup
- Thu, Aug 138 AM – 4 PM
- Fri, Aug 148 AM – 4 PM
- Sat, Aug 158 AM – 2 PM
Daily trumpet blooms all summer that hummingbirds hit repeatedly. in a plant that thrives on neglect.
Carolina wild petunia produces clusters of lavender-purple, trumpet-shaped flowers that open in the morning and drop by evening, a daily show that runs from midsummer through fall. The blooms look like exotic tropical flowers but come from one of our most reliably tough native perennials, handling drought and poor soil without complaint. Hummingbirds find it quickly and return throughout the season. Plants stay compact, rarely topping two feet, which makes them useful at the front of a border or woven through a dry sunny slope. The foliage is slightly hairy, deep green, and pairs cleanly with ornamental grasses and other prairie-edge plants. It naturalizes slowly by seed without becoming aggressive.
A nursery-grown plant, ready for the ground.
Healthy, container-grown carolina wild petunia propagated on-site at Hill House from regional genetics. Includes a one-page care card. We make every effort to supply plants as listed; occasionally we substitute a similar species of equal value.
- Sun
- Full sun
- Water
- Average
- Mature size
- 1–2 ft · 12–18 in wide
- Bloom time
- June–October
- USDA zones
- 6–9
- Family
- Acanthaceae
- Native range
- Southeastern United States from Maryland south to Florida and west to Texas
Care notes for carolina wild petunia.
Full to part sun and well-drained soil. Established plants are drought tolerant and rarely need supplemental water. Cut back hard in early spring before new growth emerges. Allow some seed heads to ripen for gentle self-seeding.
Pairs well with these.
Same light, same soil, same wildlife. Janet's picks to plant alongside carolina wild petunia.
Or skip the guesswork.
Curated packages bundle complementary species for an instant habitat. One reservation, one pickup day, a printed layout map.
Short on Space Package
For gardeners who have an abundance of passion but are short on space, this package features tidy, upright, clump-forming natives that behave and function well in small spaces.
Shade Bed Package
Ferns, sedges, and woodland natives that thrive under existing trees.
Birder’s Paradise Package
For the avid bird watchers and budding ornithologists in our community, the Birder’s Paradise Package consists of species that Hill House Nursery staff and longtime native plant advocates such as Doug Tallamy consider ‘premier bird garden plants’.