Peace Baby Tibouchina

Peace Baby Tibouchina (Tibouchina 'Peace Baby') is the white flowered dwarf of the tibouchina family, and it stops at about 90cm tall and 80cm wide. The flowers open pure white and age to a soft pink, so an established plant carries both tones at once. That size and that colour make it one of the few tibouchinas that genuinely belongs in a pot on a balcony rather than in a large garden.

Why you'll love it

• Two colours from one plant. Blooms open white and soften to pink as they age, giving a two tone effect across the shrub.
• A true dwarf. Around 90cm tall and 80cm wide, well short of the 4m tree tibouchinas, so there is no annual hard prune to schedule.
• Colour late in the season. The display comes when most gardens have finished flowering, which is the whole appeal of the genus.
• Built for warm humid summers. Heat and humidity tolerant, so it keeps performing through a subtropical wet season, and bees work the open flowers.

Where it works best

Pots, balconies and courtyards. A 300mm to 400mm pot holds one comfortably for years. Because it flowers at eye level, white against dark velvety foliage reads far better than it would across a large garden.

Borders and edging. Plant 60cm apart along the front of a bed for a continuous band of white. At that spacing the plants merge instead of sitting as separate dots.

Small gardens. Where a full sized tibouchina would take over, three or five along a path give the same seasonal event at a fraction of the size.

Growing Peace Baby Tibouchina in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun gives the heaviest flowering, with a little afternoon shade helping in hot inland gardens. It belongs in tropical, subtropical and warm temperate zones. It is frost tender, so in cool southern and tableland gardens grow it in a pot you can move under cover.

Soil. Slightly acidic and free draining. Work compost through the bed, and on clay plant high on a mound. Keep 75mm of mulch over the roots. It dislikes lime, so use a mix made for acid loving plants in containers.

Water and feed. Water twice a week through the first summer, then deep soak whenever the top of the soil dries. It is not drought tolerant, and a dry spell during bud formation costs you flowers. Feed a controlled release fertiliser for acid loving plants in early spring.

Pruning. Trim lightly as soon as the flowers are spent. Buds form on growth made through the warm months, so an early trim thickens the plant and sets up the next display. Avoid cutting back into bare old wood.

What to expect when it arrives

This variety is supplied in one size, 140mm pots in a pack of 10. Each is a young branched shrub, well past the tube stage, so a pack gives you enough matched plants to edge a bed or fill several courtyard pots.

Plants are packed upright and delivered Australia wide, delivery from $29.95, minimum order $300 before delivery. Expect a quiet few weeks after planting, then new growth within four to six weeks in warm weather, and a reliable display by the second season, all covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Growing tibouchinas in Australian gardens
• Plants that perform on a balcony
• More shrubs sized for small gardens
• Ideas for a small courtyard garden

Common questions

How big does it actually get?

About 90cm tall and 80cm wide at maturity. That is a genuine dwarf, so unlike the tree tibouchinas it will not need reducing every year to stay in bounds.

Why are some flowers white and some pink?

They are the same flowers at different ages. Blooms open white and gradually take on a soft pink, so a plant in full display carries both tones at once.

Will it survive frost?

It is frost tender. Light frost damages the soft growth and a hard frost can kill a young plant. In cold gardens keep it potted and move it under cover for winter.