Tweedia (Oxypetalum coeruleum) is a straggling evergreen perennial from southern Brazil and Uruguay, grown for its clear pale blue, star-shaped flowers. It needs full sun, very well-drained dry soil, and protection from frost, or it can be grown as an annual.
Family
Apocynaceae (Dogbane family)
Grows as
Annual, Perennial
Light
Full sun
Water
Water moderately and let the soil dry out between waterings; avoid soggy roots.
Soil
Well-drained, fairly dry soil or a sandy potting mix.
Temperature
Minimum 3–5 °C; protect from frost.
How easy
Easy
Native range
Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul) to Uruguay
Climate
subtropical
About
Oxypetalum coeruleum is a species of flowering plant, native to South America from southern Brazil to Uruguay. The synonymous name Tweedia caerulea is also used. Growing to 100 cm (39 in) long, it is a straggling evergreen perennial with heart shaped, gray-green, downy leaves. It is grown for its clear pale blue, star-shaped flowers, which are long lasting and cut well. The summer flowers age to purple and are followed by 30 cm (12 in) long, boat-shaped seed pods. The seeds have downy parachute-like tufts (cypsela).
The cultivar 'Alba' has white flowers, while 'Rosea' has pink flowers.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Oxypetalum coeruleum by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.