Scientific name: Tradescantia discolor (Syn: Rhoeo discolor, R. spathacea)
Common name: Boat lily
Origin: Central America
According to botanist Francis S. P. Ng in his book, Tropical Horticulture & Gardening (which I constantly use as a gardening reference), the Boat lily is "a rosette ever-flowering herb with succulent fragile leaves, bearing crowded flowers in boat-shaped bracts in the leaf axils. There are large-leafed and small-leafed as well as variegated varieties. The stems lean when they get too long. Replanting is usually necessary every year to keep the leafy rosettes short and neat. Some small leafed cultivars are used as ground covers or edge plants."
Ever-flowering? I'm afraid the ones in my little garden do not flower much. They grow and multiply on the ground and I have never had to replant since I have had them about five years ago. (Can't really remember where I got them though). Anyway they are growing well in full/partial sun.
The October rains have been frequent and heavy. On some plants the leaves are 'yellowing' due to over-watering. I can't help always washing and cleaning my 'outside room' porch and the run-off water 'floods' the garden.
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