Heliotrope 'Augusta Lavender' in Zone 9B Central Florida

 Hello everyone, and happy Friday! I hope everyone is having an amazing day today. I would like to share with you from our garden, Heliotrope 'Augusta Lavender'. I purchased this variety because I was drawn to the fact that it was described as being very heat and humid tolerant. It definitely is! It thrives in this zone, even in these hot summer days. The blooms are a cluster of soft lavender purple flowers with a bright yellow middle, with a slight white ring between the lavender and yellow colors.

This variety grows about 18-24 inches tall and can spread about 2-3 feet. This is a plant that loves full sun and will bloom best if planted in an area that gets at least 6-8 hours. Here in Florida, since it is so humid, I like to ensure my soil is well-draining but that I do not let the soil around the plant get too dry. This will bring the butterflies and bees straight to your garden.

This variety smells AMAZING. To me, it smells like a soft soothing vanilla baby powder. The blooms smell the best around 10-11am. I do think this one smells even better than the other variety I am growing 'Fragrant Delight'.

Hardiness Zones: 

 8, 9, 10, 11

In my garden, it was exposed to some kind of outbreak of Whiteflies, which are these tiny white flies (pictured below, I did not take the photo). You'll notice them flutter away when you touch or shake the plant. They slowly suck out the plant juices that allow them to thrive and be healthy, and my heliotrope suffered from it. I do admit to neglecting it in the last few weeks!! 

If you notice these, you will want to ensure you take measures to eradicate them as soon as you can before they affect the health of your plant. I like to start with spraying the leaves off with a hose consistently anytime I notice them on the plant. If that fails after about 2-3 weeks, then I would look into mixing some kind of water/soap mixture of your preference, but a good squirt of a dish soap in a gallon of water should do the trick. You will want to make sure you spray the undersides of the leaves and preferably in the evening so the sun cannot cause any damage to the leaves with the mixture sprayed on them.

Overall, this variety is my favorite type of heliotrope as the blooms are beautiful, and the fragrance is even better. You have to try it!

That's all for today. I hope you all have a great weekend!