Bernieh's Garden
Plectranthus 'Mona Lavender'
Genus: Plectranthus.
Species: Plectranthus.
Common name: Plectranthus 'Mona Lavender'
Family: Lamiaceae
Botanic name: Plectranthus
'Mona Lavender' is a quick-growing, herbaceous, perennial shrub reaching up to 0.75 m in height, forming a lovely, rounded, dense bush.
It has dark green, glossy leaves with intensely purple undersides and sprays of lavender flowers dashed with purple markings.
It flowers very unpredictably, but does well in shortened daylight, which starts in autumn, but depending on how old the plant is and how much it has been pinched back, flowering can be extended right into early summer.
It does very well in either shaded or partly sunny positions. When it receives sun it tends to stay smaller and more compact and the leaves exhibit a much more intense colouring - especially on the purple undersides of the leaf.
The plants enjoy being pinched back to induce better branching and compactness. They make a great bedding plant and look good when they are planted en masse or as individuals in an existing bedding display. They also make good pot plants which can be moved around as needed and will fill a 25cm pot in a matter of months.
They enjoy feeding too, which should be carried out at any time but preferably not before or during flowering. The fertilizer may consist of a general all-purpose 2-3-2 as a granular or liquid feed - be sure to water it in well as it is easy to burn the tender roots, or use a purely organic fertilizer to avoid this.
