Ruellia caroliniensis 'Catrina' - white Carolina petunia

Height: to 2’
Spread: to 1’
Light Needs: part sun to part shade
Water: average, adaptable
Flower color: white
Bloom time: spring - fall

This is a white-flowered form of the native Carolina petunia. These plants are grown from cuttings. Their seedlings are likely to be a mix of purple and white flowered types. As with the common, purple-flowered form, each flower is open for one day, opening in the morning and closing by afternoon. The flowers have a funnel shape, like a small petunia flower. It has a long flowering season. It may be best in an informal garden or a natural setting because volunteer seedlings will appear several feet from the parent plant. The flowers are visited by hummingbirds, butterflies and other insect pollinators. This species is a host for buckeye butterfly caterpillars. Deer will nibble on it.

The original white-flowered plant was found at the Upstate Native Nursery (UNN) and is named for a volunteer who works hard behind the scenes in the UNN and at plant sales.