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Purple Chinese Houses
Collinsia heterophylla
  
About Purple Chinese Houses (Collinsia heterophylla) 23 Nurseries Carry This Plant Purple Chinese Houses (Collinsia heterophylla) is a low annual (12 to 18 inches high) that flowers March through June. The flowers are gentle tones of lilac, lavender, purple or blue, usually with a white upper lip and arranged in towers of flower clusters that are thought to resemble a pagoda. They are impressive when massed and fit well with ferns and other wildflowers in chaparral, Coastal Sage Scrub, or Oak Woodland landscaping.

Seed can be sown in fall in an area cleared of weeds. The plant will typically reseed itself each year. It is adaptable to different types of soil but needs a moist place in part shade, part sun. In gardens it needs water weekly.

Hosting caterpillars of butterflies and moths, Purple Chinese Houses will also attract bees and benefit birds.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Annual herb

Size
Size
0.33 - 1.6 ft tall
4 in wide

Form
Form
Upright Columnar

Growth Rate
Growth Rate
Fast

Fragrance
Fragrance
None

Flower Color
Flower Color
Blue, Lavender, Purple

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Winter, Spring

Wildlife Supported
 


 
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 3 confirmed ) SHOW ALL

Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Part Shade, Full Sun

Moisture
Moisture
Low

Summer Irrigation
Summer Irrigation
Max 2x / month once established

Nurseries
Nurseries

Ease of Care
Ease of Care
Very Easy

Cold Tolerance
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to 0° F

Soil Drainage
Soil Drainage
Medium

Soil Description
Soil Description
Prefers rich, loamy soil. Soil PH: 5.0 - 6.0

Common uses
Common uses
Butterfly Gardens, Bee Gardens

Companion Plants
Companion Plants
Chinese Houses occurs as an understory with oaks and other trees. Other plants that occur with it include various native ferns, Clarkia spp., Sisyrinchium spp., and other annual wildflowers.

Propagation
Propagation?
Because this is an annual, it is best propagated from seed in fall in an area that has already been cleared of weeds. A very light layer of organic mulch will allow seedlings to push through. It will typically reseed itself each year.

Sunset Zones
Sunset Zones?
5*, 6*, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15*, 16*, 17*, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22*, 23*, 24*

Natural Setting
Site Type
Site Type
Shady places, meadows, disturbed places, recently burned areas, often beneath oaks or large shrubs, near seeps or ponds

Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 4.9" - 70.3", Summer Precipitation: 0.14" - 3.00", Coldest Month: 24.6" - 57.7", Hottest Month: 45.5" - 84.4", Humidity: 0.39" - 35.52", Elevation: -3814" - 11310"

Alternative Names
Botanical Names: Collinsia bicolor
Common Names: Harlequin Blue Eyed Mary, Innocence


Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links:   Jepson eFlora Taxon Page  CalPhotos  Wikipedia  Calflora


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