Care Of Mexican Petunia: How To Care For Mexican Petunia

परिचय

Ruellia or Mexican petunia is a species of flowering plants in the family Acanthaceae. It is a native of Mexico, the Caribbean, and South America. It has become a widespread invasive plant in Florida. where it had been likely introduced as a decorative plant before 1933.

Mexican petunias are pretty flowering evergreen perennial plants that can be grown in containers as shrubs like plants or as ground cover. It can grow rapidly and spread easily. Ruellia is the best plant for decoration of the edge and lawn of your terrace garden. It remains green year after year and enriches the beautification of your home garden.

Ruellia flowers have a natural beauty now it available in three colors 

1. Metallic blue

2. White

3.Pink 

Care Of Mexican Petunia

Mexican Petunia can grow on any normal soil but it blooms vigorously only on cocopeat mixed soil. It is better to grow them in containers like fruit baskets because of its beautification. But make sure to have at least 2 to 4 drainage holes at the bottom. 

You can propagate Mexican petunias through seeds, by cutting off the stem and by division. From seeds you should start its cultivation between October and November. Otherwise you can propagate it by cutting and division anytime no problem.

Seedlings are plotted 6 to 10-inch space in large container. Prepare a soil mix as 60% soil with 40% coco peat. Container soil should be a minimum 6-inch height.

After plotting the plants just kept it under shade for one night. The next day kept it under direct sunlight of your desire place of home garden. After 15 days just give 4gm/lit urea spray for vigorous growth.

Keep in mind that it needs medium water regularly. For proper growth just maintain soil moisture and give one teaspoon bone meal and 10 gm mustard cake powder every three-month interval.

It will start blooms in summer when temperatures above 33 degrees centigrade.

When blooming starts just spray NPK fertilizer 5gm/ lit solution. It helps the vigorous blooming of plants. When blooms going to start you should be watering high in the evening after 6 pm and next morning watering medium before 8 am. 

Actually, it blooms in the morning and dry it after 2 PM. Just picks up dry flower before watering in the evening. Sometimes you look that some leaves are become yellow just picks up and throw it out.

Try to maintain the cleanness of the container regularly.

Importance Of Mexican Petunia

1. Mexican petunias are popular ornamental plants.

2. Paste of leaves is used also used for skin diseases. 

3. Roots are used to destroy parasitic intestine worm(tapeworms). 

4. Ruellia tuberosa has been extensively used for the treatment of emesis, analgesia, inflammation, and also used in stomach cancer.

5. You can use Mexican petunias as folk medicine and Ayurvedic medicine to treatment of syphilis and gonorrhoea.

6. It used as a natural dye for the textile industry.

7. In folk medicine and Ayurvedic medicine it has been used as a diuretic, antidiabetic, antipyretic, analgesic, and gastroprotective.