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. 

The information displayed on this page about Plectranthus strigosus is based on our research conducted about this plant from books in our nursery library as well as from information that is provided by reliable online resources. We also have included our own observations made about it as it grew in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant performed in the containers when we had them in our nursery field. We also include comments received from others and welcome hearing from anyone who has information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information aiding others to better grow it.