Cestrum purpureum

Cestrum purpureum, also known as Cestrum elegans, Purple Cestrum or Elegant Cestrum, is a bush with a beautiful slightly arched habit, interesting for its endless brilliant flowering, in clusters of small tubular flowers of a beautiful purple-red colour. They bloom in successive waves between the end of spring and the end of autumn, perfectly highlighted by dark green foliage. Originally from Mexico, this bush loves warmth and fears frost. Outside the mildest regions, it is grown in a pot that will be overwintered like a citrus plant.

Cestrum elegans or purpureum belongs to the Solanaceae family, just like Solanums and tomatoes. It is a bush native to eastern Mexico and the border states, whose foliage theoretically persists in winter. The above-ground vegetation is destroyed at 0°C (32 °F), but the stump is capable of regrowth after a brief freeze of around -5°C, or even more in a protected situation. The plant initially has an upright habit, then becomes more flexible and moderately open, supported by slightly arched stems. With rapid growth, the elegant cestrum reaches about 3m (9ft 10in) in height and 1.80m (5ft 11in) in spread in open ground, but remains more modest in size when grown in a pot. The alternate leaves are simple, narrow, lanceolate, glabrous, and have a matte dark green colour on the upper side, lighter and fuzzy underneath. They measure between 5 and 12cm (2 and 4.7in). Flowering generally begins in June, earlier or later depending on the climate and growing conditions. It will continue until the end of October if faded flowers are removed. The flowers are grouped in terminal clusters and in the axils of the leaves. The clusters are slightly trailing and measure about 10cm (3.9in) long. Each flower, dark red in colour, has the shape of a small tube that opens into a star at its tip. After pollination, small round berries form, which turn red when ripe. They are sought after by some birds.

Cestrum purpureum is capable of flowering almost all year round if the plant is sheltered from frost in winter in a very bright conservatory, making it an excellent orangery plant. In addition to its ornamental qualities, it is a low-demanding bush in terms of soil, as long as it is fertile and not too dry. In a garden on the Mediterranean or South Atlantic coast, this beautiful plant will go well with the Cape Leadwort, the Tarentina Myrtle, an Oleander or an Indian Lilac, for example.