Tibouchina Species, Glory Bush, Lasiandra, Princess Flower, Purple Glory Tree

Interestingly, I once knew a guy who grew this outside permanently in UK, he was near Liverpool UK, he would protect it in winters and he...Read More managed to keep it either evergreen, or semi-evergreen depending on the winter. It's more of a challenge here before winters are wet and cold, rather than the dry and cold in USA, and despite an average minimum of only -3 to -4C each winter, it can still present problems. Still with a little protection and care, this plant cant make it through even the most inclement conditions.

I got one today we'll see how it goes, at the moment it's in a pot and most likely it will sit in the greenhouse this winter.

Update March 2017: We've had this in the ground now for two years, in a sheltered area (though still exposed to rain, wind etc), and it's managed to keep its leaves through the last two winters, and indeed one or two flowers through the winter too. It seems to be able to take the prolonged cool weather just enough to grow very slowly during winter, without detriment to the plant, though most of its energy in the colder months does go into flower production. Save for an extremely cold winter of the likes we haven't seen for decades or even a century, I can only imagine this plant will be at home in its cosy position for many years to come.

Beautiful plant, non stop flowers.I have it as a houseplant in my apartment. Easy to take care of, only problem doesn't like to be moved ...Read Morearound. The summer is coming but our night in Canada fresh in June. So I was trying to put it outside during the day and pull buck inside at night. It did not appreciated my effort to give it some natural conditions, prefers to stay where it is. But in my opinion this plant worth an effort to keep it happy. Flowers last only for 1 day but next day another one is coming.

This plant grows very well here in SoCal's mild climate, but does much better along the coast than inland where frost is more prevalent. ...Read More I bought two small 5gl at the beginning of spring and they took off immediately. Some people train them as patio trees which is what I plan to do. The only downside that I see is that they tend to get leggy if left untrimmed.

I bought this plant last spring, and by late September it had grown into a beautiful flowering shrub about 4'x4'. I didn't think it woul...Read Mored survive here in zone 8a, so I took cuttings last fall that rooted easily
indoors - no rooting hormone needed. Winter was milder than normal - lowest temps 3 nights @ 17f. This plant survived winter w/light mulch and the lower branches are already forming new leaves. It is definitely hardy to at least zone 8b, and it's a great addition to perennial gardens in the SE US.

I have a really dear friend who runs a small flower nursery from her home here in northeast Georgia. Several years ago she came across on...Read Morely a few of these Tibouchina plants. She gave me one and told me it was a tropical plant and to take it home and plant it just to see how much success I had with it. It has done really well here. I've realized since then that you do NOT see these plants around here anywhere! You can't even find them to buy unless it's online. They are such amazing, beautiful plants. I really do wish they were more readily available in this area. I would love to have one of the trees also. I enjoy mine so much. So if you see one of these pretty ladies just sitting there, my advice would be to GRAB it !

I was fengshewi-ing my front yard and you are suposed to put blues and purple no your north part to draw money which is why I was doing ...Read Moreall this my husband lost his job of 7years. so far no money but I love this plant if we lose the house I am digging it up.

I live in Merced which is zone 9. If you can get it planted right after the frost is over, it will establish enough so that when it dies ...Read Moreto the ground in winter, it can shoot right back up and bloom the next spring.

Tibouchina urvilleana and its relatives should never be planted in Hawaii. I have spent hundreds of dollars and countless hours of time ...Read Moreattempting to eradicate it from my one acre homesite in Volcano Village, Big Island, Hawaii,elevation 4,000 '. It smothers everything in its path and is a serious ecological threat to native species of plants and the native birds they depend on. I have had to resort to using power herbicides to keep it under control. In our area it spreads not only by seeds but by underground runners. Please, if you are living in Hawaii never, ever, plant Tibouchina.

Princess Flower is one of the most planted and beautiful flowering plants (shrubs/small trees) in the San Francisco Bay Area. While almos...Read Moret always in bloom, the plant itself is extremely attractive even when it isn't, as new growth takes on a wonderful crimson cast. It can easily be trained as either a bush or tree-like form. The most beautiful specimens are periodically pruned as wild growth can get leggy. It needs fairly heavy watering during the first year and seems to need average water thereafter especially when its feet are in the shade of a low-growing, evergreen perennial, for example azalea. Easily reaches 8 feet or more in a few years.

I personally find it misleading to give a negative rating after planting it in Hawaii. It has been known there as a "noxious weed" there for over a quarter century. Anyone who plants it there in the last decade or so should have known better. OTOH, it was certainly the most beautiful noxious weed that I observed in my first trip to the Islands in 1982 and subsequently. It doesn't seem to have any better a foothold there now than back then.

I bought a small Tibouchina two years ago, and in my Zone 7 garden, it stays outside after the danger of frost has passed, and comes insi...Read Morede for the winter. I am in the process of pruning it to be a standard, and keep it in a large pot (18 inch--equivalent to five gallon, roughly). When I brought it in this year right after Thanksgiving, it was still blooming generously. I winter it over in an uninsulated-but-attached glass porch. It is a lovely plant. I didn't get around to pruning it this year until I brought it in, and I am interested to see if any of the cuttings thrive in the cold. Not the recommended schedule for propagation, but it doesn't hurt to try.

This a great plant, I have several in my north central Florida garden. I picked mine up from Lowe's for $0.50 each as they had been negl...Read Moreected and left for dead at the end of last year. These are good plants for a partial shady area of your yard. They have velvety soft leaves which contrast well with the vivid large purple flowers. Semi woody stems root easily in damp soil. This year we had 2 back to back nights with lows of 21oF this knocked my princess flowers back to the ground. They rebounded this spring and are now4 feet tall and starting to bloom. For other north Florida or zone 8 gardeners the blooms on this plant, makes it worth a shot.

In 2005 on Mothers' Day I visited a Rutgers University Agriculture garden in New Brunswick, NJ. Every woman who made a purchase or asked...Read More for the free plant for being a mother was given one of these plants in about a quart pot. It took me some searching before I could ID it and get information. But it did grow nicely for me and even had one bloom when left outside and forgotten into the fall. I brought it inside and nursed it through the winter. The next year it grew quite large and flowered beautifully with intensely colored blooms. I brought to Florida to live out its life in a warm climate, and kept dozens of cuttings. Only one has survived and is about 4 feet tall. I am hoping it will begin bloominng soon. And soon I expect I will have to think who will be willing to adopt into their greenhouse or southern home.

I planted one of these last summer here (San Ramon, zone 9a) in a sunny, wind-protected spot. It survived the winter with no damage.
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It has gorgeous flowers and is in bloom most of the year.

Now I've planted two more.

I had 2 princess flowers growing in containers. Last winter due to my Mother being gravely ill, I did not have time to bring them in or ...Read Morecover them during the coldest night we had. Unfortunately, they did not return in the spring. I am hoping that they are providing my Mother with beautiful blooms in heaven. While in Maui in October, I observed many huge plants growing along roadways and in many other areas that receive lots of rain. Later I learned that anyone seeing them should phone in their location so they can be destroyed by the Agriculturtal Department. They are introduced native plants in the Hawaiian Islands and Puerto Rico.

I have spent a good part of the past year trying to eradicate this invasive plant and its cousin, Puna rose (Melastoma candidum), from my...Read More acre lot in the Puna district of the Big Island of Hawai'i. It threatens our native forest of ohia and hapu'u (tree fern), and exemplifies that the term "noxious weed" is relative to one's environment.

I love the way the plant looks and grows outside. I did not transplant it as I was told it was not winter hardy in zone 6B (Staten Island...Read More, New York 10301). A nursery I trusted sold it to me and didn't let me know that it could grow as high as 12 to 15 feet and I don't see myself getting this in and out each Spring.

My Princess Flower is budding and blooming prolifically and is so beautiful. It is in a large pot on my patio with afternoon sun and almo...Read Morest nightly rain. At 5,000 ft elevation on Lake Chapala in Mexico (100miles from coast...35 miles south of Guadalajara) this wonderful plant thrives down here (70-75 degrees in summer...60s in winter. Such a deep rich velvety royal purple. One of my favorites.

We moved from Memphis where we had this plant in our front yard two years ago. Upon the move, we dug it up and brought it to the Durham, ...Read MoreN.C. area and replanted it. Last year, it did not bloom but got about 3' tall. This year it is coming back with the velvet green leaves. It has been planted in full sun with minimal care. Mulched with pine straw. Will update as to blooms. It is beautiful and quite showy when it does bloom. It has survived two winters in this area. The other night we found that Home Depot had two of these for sale.

5/6/06. We put in 3 of these plants in spring 2001,expected an annual but were surprised the next late spring when the plant sprouted fr...Read Moreom the soil line and came back beautifully every year since. Due to unusually dry conditions we are still waiting for this years shoots.- will update.

Glory Bush also called Princess Flower is a shrub like perennial. It produces royal purple, 3" blooms with velvet-like medium-green folia...Read Morege from spring to fall. Non-stop color.
Light: Sun to light shade
Propagation: stem cuttinngs.
Plant is herbaceous

Easy to grow: stem cuttings root quickly in any soil. An occasional trim is needed to shape plant.

Also known as Pleroma grandifora, Tibouchina urvilleana is widely cultivated in warm areas with mild climates for its attractive purple f...Read Morelowers. In Hawai'i, this species is a pest in moist areas where it forms large thickets and spreads vegetatively.

I have several of these plants. They survived winter temperatures this year as low as 28 F on a few nights with some protection from hay...Read More mulch around the roots (I am on the borderline of Zone 8b/9a). There seemed to be more damage from cold winds than the cold itself: some plants were partially frost damaged where exposed to wind while branches lower on the same plant and out of the wind remained fresh and green. I propagate the Tibouchinas easily by cuttings. When I prune them to maintain a shape (they can tend to get somewhat "leggy"), I just stick the pruned cuttings into moist soil around the mother plant and let them root if they choose. They bloom for me in both sun and shade. The flowers, even if short lived and not plentiful at any one time, provide a deep, vibrant blue/purple that is a joy to behold!

Three days ago I bought a beautiful Princess all ready to bloom. The following morning and each subsequent morning I awaken to beautiful...Read More blooms. The problem: As soon as the Princess blooms, she loses her blooms. It seems the petals on the ground are as abundant as the petals on the plant.

This plant here( zone 9) is at every nursery. I took this picture today 01/11/04 at 11:58 A.M. I didn't think they were frost hardy, this...Read More one is in the parking lot of Windmill Nursey in Carmichael Ca. We have had some pretty frosty nights, and on into the day,but it looks pretty good. I went to see an Abutilon that's also in the same lot, it was good too.

I bought one of these plants in the spring in a six-inch pot but it quickly grew into a very large plant. It has turned out to be one of...Read More the prettiest flowers I have ever seen; it's now the middle of October and is still blooming like crazy. I will no doubt bring it into the house for the winter since we are USDA Zone 5.

If you can find this plant dont pass it by - grab it and wait for the show to begin! It is well worth the wait.

The flowers are good for cutting. Fertilize after each blooming period. It will recover from frost/freeze.

This is a gorgeous plant and flowers daily. Fast growing here in the midwest in full sun. I love it. Definitely a favorite.

Tibouchina urvilleana is not supposed to be winter hardy here in Raleigh, North Carolina (U.S.) but has overwintered. It has outs...Read Moretanding flower color. it has not flowered so far this year, but we are in a severe drought.