(plec-tran' thus aus-tra' liss)

Common name: Swedish Ivy, Swedish Begonia, Creeping Charlie

Family: Lamiaceae, Mint

Height x width: stems trailing to 3'

Foliage: rounded, glossy, dark green 1-1½" long, scalloped margins

Flowers: whorled, tubular, pale mauve to white flowers in terminal racemes

Light: bright, adaptable to moderate

Temperature: moderate, tolerates cool

Watering: moderate

Fertility: moderate

Humidity: average

Soil: well-drained

Pests and Problems: leaf spots, root rot, spider mites, mealybugs (often common), scales

Growth habit, uses: hanging, trailing, groundcover

Other interest: native to Australia; from the Greek plektron meaning spur, and anthos meaning flower, refering to the basal spur often found on flowers; a large genus with shrubby species and those used outdoors as foliage annuals, often with scented foliage

Other culture: easy, adaptable, popular

Propagation: stem tip cuttings, division of rooted branches, seeds, often roots in water

Cultivar:

'Variegata'-- white marked leaves, much less common than the species

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