Persian Shield’s foliage is other-worldly

My first time to see Persian shield was in the Texas A&M Floriculture Department greenhouses when I was barely a teenager. It was mixed in with all the other foliage plants, but somehow it shone out like a searchlight signaling to young Neil. I’ve never forgotten.

Jump ahead six decades and my friend Bob Brackman had planted it in a shade garden at the San Antonio Botanic Gardens. People were gathering around it as if it were a famous piece of art on tour of America.

I’ve seen it around restaurant and hotel courtyards. It just kinda shows up.

What you’ll want to know…
• Persian shield (Strobilanthes dyerianus)
• Native home: Burma (Myanmar)
• Tropical/sub-tropical: Zones 9-11 (will come back from roots following light freezes, but best treated as tropical annual in most of Texas).
• Size: grows to 16-30 in. tall and wide outdoors.
• Soil preference: Highly organic.
• Exposure: early morning sun, then shade during rest of day.

• Fertilizer needs: water-soluble, high-nitrogen to keep plants growing actively because new growth is more colorful than older foliage.
• Flowers: unimportant.
• Propagated: by cuttings.
• Pest issues: nothing common, but spider mites indoors occasionally.