Justicia Brandegeana aka Shrimp Plant

When I first saw these flowers, I thought they looked like shrimps. Checking with Google lens, I found that I was right.

Justicia brandegeeana, also known as the Mexican shrimp plant, or false hop is a bushy evergreen shrub. It thrives in partly shaded areas. It does best in well-drained sandy or loamy soil. It is generally drought-tolerant and low maintenance. However, they need to be trimmed every now and then, or they will grow to become a messy shrub.

The shrimp plant is perennial. The flowers emerge from bracts that form off the stems and are popular with hummingbirds and butterflies. There are many cultivars with different bract colours – yellow and red being more common.

Since it doesn’t need a lot of light, the shrimp plant is also suitable to be grown indoors.

‘Yellow queen’ is a cultivar that is known for its bright yellow.