General Landscape Uses:
Primarily recommended for natural landscapes and habitat restorations. Also moist to wet wildflower gardens.
Availability:
Grown by enthusiasts.
Description: Medium annual herbaceous wildflower.
Dimensions: About 1-2 feet in height. Usually taller than broad.
Growth Rate: Fast.
Range:
Eastern United States west to Louisiana and south to the Monroe County Keys; Bahamas, Cuba and Mexico. In the Monroe County Keys, apparently disjunct from Miami-Dade County and Key Largo to Big Pine Key and nearby islands.
Map of select IRC data from peninsular Florida.
Map of suggested ZIP codes from South Florida north to southern Brevard, Osceola, Polk, and Pasco counties.
Map of ZIP codes with habitat recommendations from the Monroe County Keys north to Martin and Charlotte counties.
Habitats: Coastal marshes.
Soils: Wet to moist, periodically inundated freshwater or brackish soils.
Nutritional Requirements: Low to moderate; it can grow in nutrient poor soils or soils with some organic content.
Salt Water Tolerance: Moderate; tolerates brackish water or occasional inundation by salt water.
Salt Wind Tolerance: Moderate; grows near salt water, but is protected from direct salt spray by other vegetation.
Drought Tolerance: Low; requires moist to wet soils and is intolerant of long periods of drought.
Light Requirements: Full sun.
Flower Color: Pink or whitish-pink with a yellow eye bordered by a red, jagged line.
Flower Characteristics: Showy, 1-1.5" wide.
Flowering Season: All year; peak in summer.
Fruit: Inconspicuous capsule.
Horticultural Notes: Can be grown from seeds and cuttings.
References: Hammer 2004
