June 2004
Shrimp
Plant, aka Justicia brandegeana, is named for the
shrimp-like appearance of the pink showy bracts
that pop up right about this time of year-- for me anyway.
I have two of these plants in a corridor that runs along
the eastern side of my house. This area has been difficult
to find plants to do well in, because there is limited sunlight
to this area. I did figure out that the middle of this strip
could support sunflowers and dahlias if
timed just right, and a swallowtail
columbine has happily ensconced itself
at a location on this strip at the foot of a tree stump.
Bottom
line is, plants
in "The Corridor" only get a few hours a day unless I choose
the perfect location for time of year to maximize sunlight
based on the angles. Although to some extent, because I live
near the beach, even a carefully worked out strategy can
be messed up by fog which blocks out light at key points
of the day based on the time of year. Not an easy area. It
gets bright indirect light at most times, but not everything
can take this much shade, nor is OK with soil that can be
pretty moist.
Lucky
for me, shrimp plant can even be grown as a houseplant in
colder climates, so its fine with bright light. And shrimp
plants will actually start to drop leaves if the soil becomes
to dry, so that works out well too. It's in just one of the
shadier spots of the corridor, and has groundcover surrounding
it that keeps the soil moist. but I didn't really think of
all this when I put the plants in. I just hoped for the best
and got very lucky.
I
must have picked just the right spots for my two shrimp plants
because they have only grown bigger and bigger for the last
two years. They also have flowered abundantly every year,
as you can see from the photo above. The red bracts of this
variety also serve as attractants for hummingbirds. I've
also seen plants with yellow and white bracts.
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