Will Mexican Heather Return in the Spring?

Plant Description

• Grown as a perennial shrub in USDA zones 9 to 11, Mexican heather remains evergreen year-round and develops into a low compact plant with delicate leaves. It grows to about 24 inches tall with a spread of 18 to 36 inches, and assumes a compact shape. The plant's fern-like look is due to its delicate leaves and long stems that lie flat. Flowers form in the axils, or the junctions of leaves and stems, and are typically lavender or purple. Less common flower colors include pink, deep rose and white.

Growth Habits

• Because of its low dense growing habit, Mexican heather works well as an evergreen ground cover that blooms year-round. It is resistant to most pests and can also be grown in containers that can be moved inside in areas where winter temperatures drop below 28 degrees. Straggly plants can be pruned to suit their growing area and quickly grow back, making Mexican heather a useful choice for beds, borders, in gardens where mid-sized plants are needed, and in greenhouses. It tolerates intense heat, and while it requires sufficient moisture to look its best, it can survive short dry periods.

Growing Mexican heather

• In USDA zones 9 to 11, Mexican heather plants can be purchased from a nursery or garden center or started indoors in the spring, though germination may be irregular. Plants should be set out and spaced about 12 inches apart in rich well-drained soil in an area that gets full sun but also provides some shade, as too much sunlight may rob the foliage of its bright green color. The regular addition of a slow-release fertilizer during the late winter through the summer months encourages flowering. In other areas where winter temperatures routinely fall below the freezing point, Mexican heather can be grown as an annual. While it will not re-bloom in the spring, new plants are easily started from tip cuttings made from last year's plants or by seeds started indoors about six weeks before the last frost. Plants can also be divided in the fall and potted up to be kept indoors until the following spring.

Considerations

• Mexican heather is very attractive to butterflies and is generally not bothered by pests, but problems may develop with mites, caterpillars and metallic leaf-eating beetles. The shiny black beetles chew the plant's leaves, and the University of Florida states that an insecticide is called for if 15 percent or more of the leaves show signs of damage. In very sandy soils, or if deprived of water and fertilizer, nematodes, tiny insects that feed on plant roots, may also become a problem. While Mexican heather needs regular watering during very dry periods, plants may die from root rot if forced to stand in water for very long. Generally resistant to deer, Mexican heather sometimes self-seeds, producing numerous small new plants that emerge in the soil under the parent plants.