The Brunfelsia Grandiflora is a beautiful dense green shrub with blooms in three distinct colors and it reminds me of an old-fashioned cottage garden.
It’s rare that we get blooms in the deep violet and light lavender tones in our coastal area, but when you get them together with white blooms all on one plant, it really earns its whimsical name, ‘Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow’. The cool name comes from the unique way this shrub flowers. The bloom starts as a darker bluish-purple, fading day by day to light lavender and finally to white. It is one of the most unusual flowering plants that grow well in our warm coastal zone. The blossoms will appear on and off all year, more so during warmer weather.
This Brunfelsia can grow to 8-10 feet high. You can start shaping it as a multi-stem tree form. It also does well kept at a hedge or border height of 4’ with proper trimming. Brunfelsias will grow in full sun but seem to like some partial shade as well. Like most of our Florida plants, this is an evergreen. It may sustain some damage if there is a frost, but that is not very likely on the island. It does do better with regular watering and regular applications of a light fertilizer.
Whether used as a hedge, a tree form, or a specimen in a pot, the Brunfelsia Grandiflora will give keep giving you multi-color blooms from yesterday, through today, and into tomorrow.
This plant column is a joint effort by all at In The Garden, a Sanibel retail garden center located at 3889 Sanibel Captiva Road.