Plant in bright shade in a well-drained soil and irrigate occasionally. Hardy to about 30 F. This is a nice delicate plant for a small-scale groundcover in a near frost free shady site, even tolerating deep shade, or it can be used as a container plant or even a houseplant in bright light.

Plectranthus strigosus comes from forested rocky ridges, cliffs and river valleys in frost free regions of the Eastern Cape of South Africa. The name for the genus comes from the Greek words 'plektron' meaning a "spur" and 'anthos' meaning "flower" in reference to the spur that is found at the base of the corolla tube of the type species Plectranthus fruticosus. The specific epithet means "having short dense bristles" in reference to the hairs on stems and leaves. Other common names include Creeping Spur Flower and Miniature Swedish Ivy. We received this plant as Plectranthus purpuratus, a similar but larger species that lacks the rusty hairs and the constricted floral tube that this species has. Our thanks go to Dan Tyson who suggested that we grow this gem of a plant and we did so from 2014 until 2020. 

This information about Plectranthus strigosus displayed is based on research conducted in our horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also will relate observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we receive from others and we welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share any cultural information that would aid others in growing it.