Brunfelsia pauciflora

Brunfelsia pauciflora commonly known as Yesterday-Today-and-Tomorrow is a lovely, evergreen shrub that is native to Brazil. While it is at best half hardy, we have found it will survive a few degrees of frost under cover, it is none the less a superb small, evergreen shrub, granted the RHS Award of Garden Merit. In late spring and through summer it produces flowers which are borne in cymes of up to 10. The individual flowers open purple with a white throat, then turn lavender and then white. The shrub has all three flower colours at once, as more bloom. Leaves are long and leathery. Easy to grow in most fertile, moist, free draining soils in a full sun location. Can be grown in a pot or other container. Use a good quality John Innes compost as this plant may be there a long time and peaty types of compost eventually degrade, become too packed and choke the roots. We recommend the addition of a controlled release fertiliser such as Osmocote pro to ensure sufficient nutrients. One application in spring will last the whole year. This plant must be protected from moderate to severe frost. The fruits are toxic and should not be eaten.