Product Description:
A member of the verbena family, duranta plant typically grows 2 to 4 feet tall in regions where it dies back in the winter, but it can achieve heights of 15 feet or more in warm-winter environments. Duranta plant has attractive evergreen foliage with rounded or oval leaves about 2 inches long; some varieties have gold or variegated leaves. It delivers scores of pale blue, white, or violet blossom clusters for the entire growing season. You’re in luck if you are in an area where the Duranta is an annual plant because you can easily grow it in a large container and keep it outside. You would only have to bring it inside when the weather gets chilly, and placing it in front of a south-facing window will help it stay healthy and colorful throughout the winter.
Light:
Duranta plants need full sun to get the energy they need to make blooms and berries. Plants growing in too much shade often get lanky and sparse.
Soil:
When growing duranta plants as annual, provide rich, loamy soil to help the plants reach their potential in one growing season. Within their hardiness zone (10 11), duranta plants can tolerate lean soil, as long as they have good drainage.
Duranta plants require a moderate amount of water. Plants growing outdoors need the equivalent of about an inch of rain per week. When growing in container, water your duranta when the top of the soil feels dry.
Temperature and Humidity:
The duranta likes it hot, and even triple-digit temperatures won’t slow it down. If you are growing the plant in a container, bring it indoors when temperatures dip below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Duranta plants do well in both dry and humid conditions. They also tolerate the salty air of beach climate.
Fertilizer
Duranta plants are not heavy feeders and can get by without any supplemental fertilizer in rich soil. In lean or rocky soils, you can use an all purpose general fertilizer once a month during the growing season.
Pruning:
In regions where it is winter hardy, it’s important to prune the duranta plant to keep it in bounds, Without pruning, a duranta plant can take over paths and structures, as well as choke out neighboring plants. Because duranta plants form flowers on new growth, you can cut them back severely in the winter in preparation for the burst of growth that occurs in the spring.
Propagating Duranta:
Propagating is not only a cheap way to increase your duranta plant population, but it’s also a way to overwinter plants when the original specimen is too large to bring indoors. Duranta plants root easily from softwood stem cuttings.
- Take a 6-inch cutting of a woody stem in the summer.
- Dip the end of the cutting in rooting compound.
- Plant the cutting in a pot filled with well-drained potting mix and keep moist until the roots establish and new green growth starts.
- When well-rooted and actively growing, plant the sapling in the desired garden location, or in a large pot for growing indoors.
Potting and Repotting Duranta:
Duranta plants adapt quite easily to container culture and, in fact, can be tidier specimens when given the boundaries of a pot. Choose a large, 16-inch pot for this rapidly growing plant, and make sure the pot has good drainage.
