PlantFiles: Glory Flower, Princess Flower
Tibouchina urvilleana

This a great plant, I have several in my north central Florida garden. I picked mine up from Lowe's for $0.50 each as they had been neglected and left for dead at the end of last year. These are good plants for a partial shady area of your yard. They have velvety soft leaves which contrast well with the vivid large purple flowers. Semi woody stems root easily in damp soil. This year we had 2 back to back nights with lows of 21oF this knocked my princess flowers back to the ground. They rebounded this spring and are now4 feet tall and starting to bloom. For other north Florida or zone 8 gardeners the blooms on this plant, makes it worth a shot.

In 2005 on Mothers' Day I visited a Rutgers University Agriculture garden in New Brunswick, NJ. Every woman who made a purchase or asked for the free plant for being a mother was given one of these plants in about a quart pot. It took me some searching before I could ID it and get information. But it did grow nicely for me and even had one bloom when left outside and forgotten into the fall. I brought it inside and nursed it through the winter. The next year it grew quite large and flowered beautifully with intensely colored blooms. I brought to Florida to live out its life in a warm climate, and kept dozens of cuttings. Only one has survived and is about 4 feet tall. I am hoping it will begin bloominng soon. And soon I expect I will have to think who will be willing to adopt into their greenhouse or southern home.

I planted one of these last summer here (San Ramon, zone 9a) in a sunny, wind-protected spot. It survived the winter with no damage.

It has gorgeous flowers and is in bloom most of the year.

Now I've planted two more.

I had 2 princess flowers growing in containers. Last winter due to my Mother being gravely ill, I did not have time to bring them in or cover them during the coldest night we had. Unfortunately, they did not return in the spring. I am hoping that they are providing my Mother with beautiful blooms in heaven. While in Maui in October, I observed many huge plants growing along roadways and in many other areas that receive lots of rain. Later I learned that anyone seeing them should phone in their location so they can be destroyed by the Agriculturtal Department. They are introduced native plants in the Hawaiian Islands and Puerto Rico.

I have spent a good part of the past year trying to eradicate this invasive plant and its cousin, Puna rose (Melastoma candidum), from my acre lot in the Puna district of the Big Island of Hawai'i. It threatens our native forest of ohia and hapu'u (tree fern), and exemplifies that the term "noxious weed" is relative to one's environment.

I love the way the plant looks and grows outside. I did not transplant it as I was told it was not winter hardy in zone 6B (Staten Island, New York 10301). A nursery I trusted sold it to me and didn't let me know that it could grow as high as 12 to 15 feet and I don't see myself getting this in and out each Spring.

My Princess Flower is budding and blooming prolifically and is so beautiful. It is in a large pot on my patio with afternoon sun and almost nightly rain. At 5,000 ft elevation on Lake Chapala in Mexico (100miles from coast...35 miles south of Guadalajara) this wonderful plant thrives down here (70-75 degrees in summer...60s in winter. Such a deep rich velvety royal purple. One of my favorites.

We moved from Memphis where we had this plant in our front yard two years ago. Upon the move, we dug it up and brought it to the Durham, N.C. area and replanted it. Last year, it did not bloom but got about 3' tall. This year it is coming back with the velvet green leaves. It has been planted in full sun with minimal care. Mulched with pine straw. Will update as to blooms. It is beautiful and quite showy when it does bloom. It has survived two winters in this area. The other night we found that Home Depot had two of these for sale.

5/6/06. We put in 3 of these plants in spring 2001,expected an annual but were surprised the next late spring when the plant sprouted from the soil line and came back beautifully every year since. Due to unusually dry conditions we are still waiting for this years shoots.- will update.

Glory Bush also called Princess Flower is a shrub like perennial. It produces royal purple, 3" blooms with velvet-like medium-green foliage from spring to fall. Non-stop color.
Light: Sun to light shade
Propagation: stem cuttinngs.
Plant is herbaceous

Easy to grow: stem cuttings root quickly in any soil. An occasional trim is needed to shape plant.

Also known as Pleroma grandifora, Tibouchina urvilleana is widely cultivated in warm areas with mild climates for its attractive purple flowers. In Hawai'i, this species is a pest in moist areas where it forms large thickets and spreads vegetatively.

I have several of these plants. They survived winter temperatures this year as low as 28 F on a few nights with some protection from hay mulch around the roots (I am on the borderline of Zone 8b/9a). There seemed to be more damage from cold winds than the cold itself: some plants were partially frost damaged where exposed to wind while branches lower on the same plant and out of the wind remained fresh and green. I propagate the Tibouchinas easily by cuttings. When I prune them to maintain a shape (they can tend to get somewhat "leggy"), I just stick the pruned cuttings into moist soil around the mother plant and let them root if they choose. They bloom for me in both sun and shade. The flowers, even if short lived and not plentiful at any one time, provide a deep, vibrant blue/purple that is a joy to behold!

Three days ago I bought a beautiful Princess all ready to bloom. The following morning and each subsequent morning I awaken to beautiful blooms. The problem: As soon as the Princess blooms, she loses her blooms. It seems the petals on the ground are as abundant as the petals on the plant.

This plant here( zone 9) is at every nursery. I took this picture today 01/11/04 at 11:58 A.M. I didn't think they were frost hardy, this one is in the parking lot of Windmill Nursey in Carmichael Ca. We have had some pretty frosty nights, and on into the day,but it looks pretty good. I went to see an Abutilon that's also in the same lot, it was good too.

I bought one of these plants in the spring in a six-inch pot but it quickly grew into a very large plant. It has turned out to be one of the prettiest flowers I have ever seen; it's now the middle of October and is still blooming like crazy. I will no doubt bring it into the house for the winter since we are USDA Zone 5.

If you can find this plant dont pass it by - grab it and wait for the show to begin! It is well worth the wait.

The flowers are good for cutting. Fertilize after each blooming period. It will recover from frost/freeze.

This is a gorgeous plant and flowers daily. Fast growing here in the midwest in full sun. I love it. Definitely a favorite.

Tibouchina urvilleana is not supposed to be winter hardy here in Raleigh, North Carolina (U.S.) but has overwintered. It has outstanding flower color. it has not flowered so far this year, but we are in a severe drought.