My Princess Flower started blooming this week. It has a lovely, deep purple flowers and velvety leaves. Princess Flower, Tibouchina urvilleana, is a tropical plant, reliably perennial only in zone 9 and warmer. It may return in zone 8 after a warm winner, but only if planted in spring so that it has a full season for roots to become well-established before cold weather arrives. I purchased mine in late summer last year, so I took “insurance” cuttings to overwinter in the greenhouse. The one that was planted outdoors did not survive, so I am happy that I had a backup plan. The rooted cuttings went into the ground in spring and have grown into good size plants. The flowers are so lovely that I will repeat the cuttings procedure again to be certain that I do not lose it entirely.
Tibouchina, pronounced tie-buh-CHEE-nuh, is native to Brazil. In its native area, it can grow to heights of 6-8 feet. In ideal situations it can even attain heights of 15 feet on more. Here in the southeast, it is grown as an annual or as a houseplant. Outdoors, give it full sun or mostly sun. It is moderately drought tolerant, but will flower more extravagantly if you provide supplemental water during extended dry weather. Princess Flower has an open, gangly habit so it looks best in a mixed planting instead of in swaths.
One of the prettiest applications I have seen for Tibouchina was during a fundraiser garden tour. At the last minute (the night before the tour), one of the garden owners decided that she needed something to decorate her ticket sales area. She bought a Tibouchina that had been tree formed, and dropped it into a decorative container. Her garden was expansive and lovely. And what plant drew the most attention? The last minute Tibouchina.
