Plectranthus ‘Cape Angel Purple’

Plectranthus 'Cape Angel Purple' (Plectranthus 'Cape Angel Purple') is a low spreading groundcover that flowers in shade, which is a rarer trait than it sounds. It reaches about 50cm high and 80cm wide, with soft grey green foliage and upright spikes of purple flowers held above the leaves. It fills a difficult bed fast and asks very little in return.

Why you'll love it

• Colour in the shaded parts of the garden. Purple flower spikes carry through the warmer months in positions where most flowering groundcovers refuse to bloom.
• Quick to cover ground. Fast growth and a spreading habit mean a bare bed reads as planted within a season.
• Tolerant of humidity and salt. It handles a muggy subtropical summer and coastal air without complaint.
• Bees and butterflies work it. The flower spikes are a reliable nectar source through the warm months.

Where it works best

Groundcover and mass planting. Plant 50cm apart. At that spacing plants meet and cover the soil within a single warm season, which keeps weeds down under trees and along fence lines.

Borders and edging. Its low mounded habit suits the front of a shaded bed or a path edge, where the flower spikes lift above the foliage.

Pots and courtyards. A 300mm pot suits one plant, and it spills gently over the rim. It also does well on a covered balcony in bright indirect light.

Growing Plectranthus in Australia

Position and climate. Part shade to filtered light is ideal, with morning sun tolerated. It belongs in tropical, subtropical and warm temperate gardens. It takes light frost only, so in cooler southern gardens grow it in a pot and move it under cover for winter.

Soil. Free draining soil with compost worked through. It is not fussy about fertility, but it will rot if the crown sits in wet ground over winter.

Water and feed. Water twice a week while establishing, then it becomes drought tolerant and only needs help in long dry spells. A light application of complete slow release fertiliser in spring is plenty.

Pruning. Cut spent flower spikes off to bring on the next round, and shear the whole planting back by a third in early spring. That annual cut back is what stops it going woody and open in the centre.

What to expect when it arrives

It is supplied as tube stock, a young rooted plant with a few sets of leaves. Tubes are the right way to buy a groundcover, because you need numbers to cover an area and small plants establish fast in this genus. Expect one to fill its 50cm within a warm season.

Soft foliage can bruise slightly in transit, and a leaf or two may drop in the first week. Plant it out promptly, water it in well, and it recovers quickly. Delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95, and every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Browse the groundcover range
• Plants that perform in part shade
• The best groundcovers for shaded beds
• Low growing ideas for garden borders

Common questions

How many plants do I need per square metre?

At 50cm spacing, four plants cover a square metre. That gives closed cover in one warm season, and it is worth ordering to that number rather than stretching the spacing.

Will it grow in full sun?

It prefers part shade or filtered light. Morning sun is fine, but harsh afternoon sun bleaches the foliage and the plant wilts through summer even when the soil is moist.

Does it survive frost?

Light frost only. A brief frost may burn the tips, and a hard frost will kill it outright, so cool climate gardeners should treat it as a potted plant that comes under cover in winter.

How do I stop it going leggy?

Shear the planting back by a third each spring and remove spent flower spikes through the season. Left alone it thins in the centre and the stems turn woody.