Culture
Easily grown in moist, well-drained soils in full sun. Tolerates light shade. Established plants have some drought tolerance. This is a dieback perennial (shrubby plant that dies to the ground in winter but returns in spring) in the colder northern parts of its growing range.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Rostrinucula dependens, commonly known as weeping rostrinucula or weeping buddleia, is a mounding, suckering, deciduous sub-shrub of the mint family that typically grows in a weeping form to 3-6’ tall and as wide. It is native to hilly country in south central China. Tiny lavender-pink flowers bloom at the stem ends in weeping racemes (to 14” long) from late summer into fall (August-October). Upright-arching, gray-brown stems are clad with oblong-elliptic leaves (to 3-6” long and to 1 1/4" wide). Leaves are medium green above and gray-green beneath with irregular serrulate margins. Flowers give way to beaked nutlets.
From a distance, this shrub somewhat resembles a buddleia (figwort family), hence the common name of weeping buddleia.
Genus name comes from the Latin words rostrum meaning beak and inus meaning having in reference to the short, stout, recurved beaks on the nutlets.
Specific epithet comes from the Latin word dependulus meaning hanging down in reference to weeping plant form.
Problems
No serious insect or disease problems.
Uses
Shrub or perennial borders. Sunny foundation areas. Water margins.