Tibouchina ‘Illusion’

Tibouchina 'Illusion' (Tibouchina 'Illusion') is a compact purple flowered tibouchina for gardens with no room for the standard forms. It sits at roughly 1.5m tall and 1.2m wide, dense enough for a low informal hedge, and carries deep violet purple flowers against dark velvety foliage. It is the classic tibouchina display at a size you can reach the top of.

Why you'll love it

• Full sized flowers on a small shrub. Rich purple blooms, the same drama as the big tibouchinas, on a plant that stays around 1.5m rather than climbing to 5m.
• Dense enough to hedge. Its bushy habit means a row reads as a flowering hedge rather than a line of gappy shrubs.
• Humidity is not a problem. It holds its foliage and keeps flowering through a muggy subtropical summer.
• Sized for pots and courtyards. A 500mm pot is enough for a mature plant, which suits balconies and paved entries.

Where it works best

Informal hedging. Plant 1m apart. The shrubs touch by the second season and you get a soft flowering boundary about 1.5m high, which suits a front garden line better than a clipped hedge.

Feature planting in a small garden. One plant against a light coloured wall shows the purple off properly. Allow 1.2m of width.

Pots and courtyards. Use a pot at least 500mm wide with free draining acidic mix. Potted plants settle a little smaller and can be moved out of cold air.

Growing Tibouchina 'Illusion' in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun gives the heaviest flowering and the densest habit, with light afternoon shade acceptable in inland heat. It is a plant for tropical, subtropical and warm temperate gardens. Being frost tender, cool temperate and frosty inland districts need it potted and shifted under cover.

Soil. Free draining and on the acidic side, improved with compost before planting. Tibouchinas do not like lime or waterlogged ground, so raise the bed on heavy clay.

Water and feed. Water twice a week through the first summer, then keep the soil evenly moist while it is in flower, since drying out shortens the display. Feed a fertiliser for acid loving plants in early spring and after the main flush.

Pruning. Prune immediately after the main flowering, taking up to a third off all round. For a hedge, trim lightly twice a year and accept fewer flowers for a tighter face. It reshoots readily, so a leggy plant can be brought back.

What to expect when it arrives

It is grown in a single size, tube stock. Each plant arrives as a rooted cutting roughly 15 to 25cm tall, lightly branched and not in flower. That is the honest picture: a young plant at a low price, not an instant hedge, though tube stock establishes fast.

Tip prune once soon after planting to force branching low down, which matters for a hedge. Expect light flowering in the second year and a proper display by the third. Delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95, and every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Compare it with Tibouchina 'Chameleon', whose flowers shift from white to pink to purple.
• Browse other screening plants that reach 1m to 2m.
• See what else thrives in subtropical and warm climate gardens.
• Read our guide to choosing alternative hedging plants.

Common questions

How far apart should I plant it for a hedge?

One metre apart for an informal flowering hedge. Each shrub fills about 1.2m of width, so that spacing closes the line without the plants competing hard enough to thin the lower growth.

How big does it actually get?

Around 1.5m tall and 1.2m wide, well short of the older tibouchina varieties. If you have seen a 4m tibouchina in a neighbouring garden, this is not that plant.

Why has my plant stopped flowering well?

Usually no pruning and not enough sun. Tibouchinas flower on newer wood, so an annual cut back restores the display, and a plant in shade will always flower sparsely.