Shooting Star (Pseuderanthemum laxiflorum)

Shooting Star Plant Features

Shooting star is an under-utilized flowering shrub that's worth growing if you can find it. It's prized for its lustrous green leaves and steady supply of star-shaped purple flowers from mid-spring to early winter. A relatively small shrub, it's popular for planting along walkways, with other shrubs, and even mixed with perennials in frost-free Zone 10 where it grows about 4 feet tall and wide. Because it flowers nonstop throughout the summer, shooting star can also be found in Northern areas as an annual for garden beds, borders, and container gardens. 

In container gardens, shooting star is beautiful enough to grow by itself as a specimen plant, but also mixes well with a wide variety of other plants. You can't go wrong growing shooting star!

Shooting Star Questions?
Our flowering shrub experts are happy to help. Just drop us an email and we'll get back to you!

Shooting Star Growing Instructions

Shooting star grows and blooms best in light shade. Water shooting star regularly, especially during extended periods of hot, dry weather. Even though shooting star is a heat-loving tropical shrub, it doesn't hold up well to drought. To keep the soil moist longer, it's helpful to apply a 2- to 3-inch-deep layer of mulch over the soil. This trick works for container gardens, too!

Fertilize shooting star once or twice during the spring and summer growing season to keep it blooming profusely. You can use any general-purpose fertilizer; just be sure to follow the directions on the product packaging.

You can prune shooting star back at any time of the year. It's a fast grower and responds well to being pruned. 

Note: Shooting star is not intended for human or animal consumption. 

  • Water

    Medium water needs

  • Light

    Outside: Part sun

    Outside: Shade

  • Colors

    Purple

  • Special Features

    Attracts butterflies

    Attracts hummingbirds