perennial
Mexican honeysuckle
Justicia spicigera
Preview: plant data is awaiting horticulturist review. A professional horticulturist hasn't reviewed our plant table yet. Lists still follow fixed rules for zone, sun, pets, deer and invasive status.
Justicia spicigera is a semi-evergreen perennial for gardens in zones 9–11. It grows 3–4 ft tall and 3–5 ft wide, so plant it 3 ft apart. Give it part sun to part shade and little water once established. It flowers orange in October to May. In a FloraVista list it usually plays the filler role: a flowering plant that fills the middle or front of the bed. Deer may browse it when other food is short, and it is toxic to dogs and cats. Our rules leave it out of lists in the Pacific Northwest, where summer heat, humidity or mild winters hold it back even inside its zone range.
Facts from our plant table
- Botanical name
- Justicia spicigera
- Plant type
- Perennial, semi evergreen
- Hardiness zones
- 9 to 11
- Sun
- Part sun (4–6 hours); Part shade (2–4 hours)
- Water
- Low
- Soil
- Any well-drained soil; takes reflected heat if shaded in the afternoon.
- Mature size
- 3–4 ft tall × 3–5 ft wide
- Spacing
- 3 ft apart (centre to centre)
- Growth rate
- Medium
- Bloom
- Oct–May · orange
- Roles in a bed
- Filler, Structure
- Styles
- low water, cottage
- Deer resistance
- Medium: browsed when deer are hungry
- Pets
- Toxic to dogs and cats. Not in the ASPCA database and no reliable toxicity data found; marked toxic as a precaution pending review.
- Native to
- Not native to the US (or a garden hybrid)
- Pot size and price
- 1-gallon pot, typically $12–$22 (sometimes stocked)
- Plant in
- Spring or Fall
- First-year watering
- Water twice a week the first summer in the desert, then every 1-2 weeks in summer and rarely in winter.
- Pruning
- Cut back by a third in late spring after the main bloom; remove frost-damaged stems in spring.
Sources: ASPCA Toxic and Non-Toxic Plant List (from general knowledge; not re-checked unless verification is web-checked); Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder and grower tags; State extension service guidance and USDA PLANTS distribution maps; Rutgers NJAES Landscape Plants Rated by Deer Resistance; Invasive Plant Atlas of the United States and state noxious weed lists; Typical 2026 US garden-centre and big-box retail listings (estimate). Not yet reviewed by a horticulturist.
Good companions
The plants our list engine most often puts in the same bed as Mexican honeysuckle, across the sun, zone, pet, deer and style combinations it fits.
- Hummingbird sageSalvia spathaceaperennial · zones 8–10
- Island alum rootHeuchera maximaperennial · zones 8–10
- Bamboo muhlyMuhlenbergia dumosaornamental grass · zones 9–11
- FirebushHamelia patensshrub · zones 9–11
- ToyonHeteromeles arbutifoliashrub · zones 8–11
- Mat rush 'Breeze'Lomandra longifolia 'Breeze'perennial · zones 8–11
If you can't find it
Substitutes our engine offers for Mexican honeysuckle: same role in the bed, passing the same rules.
How this page was made
This page was generated from this plant's record in FloraVista's plant table by fixed rules. The companions and substitutes come from the lists our rules engine composes. No named expert has reviewed this page.
Data status: the plant table is awaiting review by a horticulturist. Check each plant with a local nursery or extension office before you buy.
Sources
- Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder, state extension services and the USDA PLANTS database (zones, size, sun, water, bloom, native range)
- ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists (dog and cat toxicity)
- Rutgers NJAES and regional extension deer-resistance ratings
- State noxious-weed and invasive-plant lists and the Invasive Plant Atlas of the US
- Typical US garden-centre listings (pot size and price band)
Generated . How FloraVista chooses plants