Purple Glory Plant – Sutera cordata or possible S. grandiflora

Common Name: Bacopa, Purple Glory Plant

Botanical Name: Sutera cordata or possible S. grandiflora, sue-TER-a cor-DAY-ta

Decorative Life: 2-4 plus weeks depending on environment.

Flower Color: Blue, Purple, White

Availability: Year Round

• The specific epithet name “cordata” means heart-shaped. Named after J. R. Suter (1766-1827), Swiss botanist and author of “Flora Helvetica” in 1802.
• Many species in this 3000 plus species family are grown for ornamental and medicinal purposes including slipperwort, speedwell, mullein, bearded-tongue, foxglove, snapdragon, toadflax, monkey-flower, cape-fuchsia, coral-plant, nemesia, and blue-lips.
• Some favorite cultivars and their respective flower colors include ‘Cabana’ (white) and ‘Lavender Storm’. Will generally do well in light levels at least bright enough to read a newspaper in comfort but more light would be better.

Using the cultivar ‘Snowflake’, Williams, Starman and Faust (1999) report that they recommend this species as a spring crop only (not summer) as warm postharvest temperatures (greater than about 80F) can greatly reduce quality.