Does best in sun or part shade with infrequent to occasional irrigation - definitely a drought tolerant plant in coastal gardens and is cold hardy to around 29° F as an evergreen perennial but will resprout from roots and can be grown in gardens in colder climates with claims it is root hardy to 20° F and useful in gardens in USDA zones 6 and 7. Pinch back occasionally through summer to promote rebloom and to keep more compact and watch for it to spread a bit from rhizomes. This plant has long been a favorite in our garden; it is attractive and incredibly tough, thriving on neglect. It is great as a small scale ground cover or in a mixed perennial planting in the ground or containers and is very attractive to bees and butterflies. One unfortunate aspect about it is that it has become a weed in Southeast Australia where it has been determined to be toxic to livestock that feed on it, but this plant has been well behaved in our garden and is not noted as a weed in the US.

Heliotropium amplexicaule comes from tropical South America and was first described in 1794 by the Danish botanist Martin Vahl. The name for the genus comes from the Greek words 'helio' meaning "the sun" and 'tropi' meaning "to turn" from the belief that the flowers turned towards and follow the direction of the sun. The species epithet is from the Latin word 'amplexus' meaning "to wind around" or "surround" and 'caulis' meaning "stem" referring to the sessile leaves that seem to clasp the stem. A selection, Heliotropium amplexicaule 'Azure Skies', in the Southern Living Plant Collection appears to be very similar if not the same as the species, which we have grown since getting it from horticulturalist Carol Bornstein in the early 1990's. We have listed in in our catalogs since 1995. 

The information displayed on this page about Heliotropium amplexicaule is based on the research we conducted about it in our nursery horticultural library as well as from information provided by reliable online resources. We also include some of our own observations made about this plant as it grows in the nursery gardens and other gardens that we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in the containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we have received from others and welcome hearing from anyone with additional information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information that will aid others to better grow it.