The plant genus, Rhexia is a primarily North American native genus in the Melastomaceae family, making it a cousin to the popular tropical house plant, Tibouchina. Rhexia is a genus of only thirteen species, of which we’ve grown eight. The most widespread is Rhexia virginica, which naturally occurs from Canada south to Texas. They are all bog/wetland species, and require moist to wet soils to thrive. Below are a couple of our favorites, just wrapping up their flowering season here at JLBG.
The most showy species that we’ve grown is Rhexia virginica. The patch below is an outstanding Western NC form, shared by our former Garden Curator, Keith Lukowski. This is a very stoloniferous (un-trained) species, so be careful not to plant it were it can swamp other, smaller, defenseless plants. It prefers moist, sandy soils, usually being found along pond edges.
Rhexia alifanus, which occurs naturally from NC to Texas is the other extreme of the genus. This demure, well-trained plant does not run, but instead forms a clump of many upright, unbranched stems, topped with a small cluster of terminal flowers. This has proven to be an excellent grower in our bog garden.
