PlantFiles: Shrimp Plant
Justicia brandegeana

Had it on the North East side of my house for years. Mine are about 3 - 4 feet high and covered in dark pink "flowers" most of the year. A few years back during a really bad ice storm, they actually had ice hanging from the blooms. Quite a site. Of course once the thaw happened, the flowers were gone. But the plant survived with no protection! Just wish I could get a few cuttings to root so I could have more in other parts of the yard.

My mother brought this plant from our old house over 40 years ago and planted the east side of this house. I don't know how she replanted them, since I didn't care at the time, but the plants have thrived with very minimal care. Not only the plants have multiplied and have taken over most of the eastern side of the house, but some seed have taken next door and small plants are coming up.

These plants have salmon colored blooms. The ones that get more of the morning sun the most sun have deeper colored and larger blooms than the ones in the shade. Since my mother passed away in 1994 these plants have pretty much grown on their own. We occassionally water them, but probably not more than once every couple of months, so most of the water comes from the rain.

Several of the plants are about 4 ft. and desperately need pruning. I find it hard to prune them as they always seem to be blooming. Since they are so easy to grow here, I'm really surprised that the only other ones I've seen are the ones that I've given to a couple of friends.

This plant has survived 9 years, flowers year round in total shade. Due to our intense Spring and Summer sun, shade is important. The plant receives minimal water, is in soil covered with rocks which helps retain the moisture; this plant has begun to spread a little.
Candyaz

These plants are a fond part of my childhood here in So. California. These plants are everywhere out here - and every chance we'd get, we'd pull the white flowers from the bracts, put the ends in our mouths and suck in just the tiniest bit of nectar. It's easy to see why they're so popular with hummingbirds...and why we weren't.

I have the salmon color. In south Georgia, it survives the winter. The hummingbirds love it.

The beve of arched salmon, rose-pink as well as pale yellow bracts surrounding the white flowers up the 6 inches long, this attractive evergreen shrub resembles a shrimp.
Reaching a height of 3-4 ft and a spread of 24 in, it flowers mainly in summer. I have my best luck with it when it is about 3 ft tall cutting it in half or more. It comes back healthier and happier for the rest of the summer otherwise it breaks easily and the blooming slowes down to almost nothing but straggly stems...

It has survived temperatures as low as 25°F, and the plant has resprouted in the spring .

Throughout the Southeast this is a very popular plant and falls into the 'passalong' category.

A gardening friend who recently moved from the Tampa Bay Area (zone 9b) to here in Northcentral Florida (zone 8b) gave me cuttings of this plant, with the deep red flowers, and also cuttings of a shrimp plant with pale salmon colored flowers. Cuttings of the deep red one rooted almost instantly in water in a container on the north windowsill above my kitchen sink. The salmon colored one took much longer to root in water, and only a few cuttings actually rooted, and the plant as a whole is much smaller than the red one.

My friend has the original red plant in the ground here, but it took a hard hit this past winter, the coldest winter in zone 8b in about 100 years. And her salmon colored one almost didn't survive at all, and she says it is now quite a lot smaller than when it was growing in the Tampa Bay area. I put my plants in pots and will overwinter them protected, under a makeshift greenhouse, where I can put out lights and/or heaters if needed, and then next year I will take more cuttings and then take a chance with them in the ground.

My friend says this red type is very vigorous and spreading--almost invasive--but it is so beautiful that I wouldn't mind a lot of them around in my garden. Her plants get morning sun and bloom profusely. I get dappled sun most of the day under large live oaks, so will experiment with different sun/shade placements. I have a lot more shady spots than sunny ones!

In west central Florida, for me, shrimp plant is a winner. At the old place, it survived and bloomed 3' from an old oak, in mostly shade. It was leggy and odd and always got comments. At my new place, with better dirt and more room, the new plant (I've only grown the red type) is a lush full bush covered in blooms. It gets much more water, and probably near full sun in summer. In winter it will get half shade or more from the oaks to the south.

This plant is striking and unusual. The genus seems to have several garden worthy plants, and I intend to seek them out and give them a try.

Easily grown in south Texas, usually thick with bright coral blooms (or bracts?) and lots of them. They like some shade in the middle of the day; too much shade and the colors are not so bright. Easily propagated from cutting, in soil or water. Very popular here.

The Shrimp Plants will take full sun, but the blossoms will not last as long.

To propagate, sow seed at 61°F soil temperature, or root softwood or semi-ripe cuttings with bottom heat from late spring to midsummer. Regularly tip prune to promote bushier plant. Minimum temp is 45°F/7°C.