Achimenes, Cupid's Bow, Hot Water Plant, Magic Flower, Mother's Tears, Widow's Tears 'Big Purple'

it's recommended that these are mulched well from zone 8 and up for the winter to guarantee survival.

This is really an easy plant. I have 4 pots of it. One is a clay strawberry pot, and looks really pretty growing out all the spaces on th...Read Moree sides and top. I also have them planted in with my caladium's where they get high shade/filtered sun. Mulch them during winter months and then in March I pull the mulch back and up they come. When the one's in pots go dormant in late fall here in Fl. I stick the pots up under the bench in the barn. In spring I bring them out and either divide the pots then and make another one or repot and when I see new growth start w/ light fertilizer and off they go!!

One of the best of the Achimenes for the shade garden in warm areas, 'Big Purple' can be difficult to find. I've seen it recently called...Read More 'Purple King'. This is a draping cultivar that is particularly fine in a pot, a hanging basket or a raised bed in the shade garden, especially among bold ferns and Irises.

Almost all Achimenes are easy from tip cuttings in the hot season. Before the plant blooms, pinch out tips, strip off the bottom leaves and stick in consistently moist but well drained soil.

The plant's rhizomes are formed as, and after the plant has gone dormant (Oct on the gulf coast). They can be dug in late Jan or Feb. You will have scads of 'Big Purple" though other Achimenes are not so prolific. 'Big Purple' has easily identifiable rhizomes which can get quite long and narrow and are tinged purplish red.