Mackaya bella is an evergreen and upright shrub that comes from the tropical areas of South Africa.
It is rather old fashioned, but still delightful shrub with glossy deep green, oval leaves.
From spring into summer it produces racemes of flared funnel shaped pinky mauve flowers. The flowers have deeper coloured veins and the more shade they have the bluer the colour.
This is a tropical plant that grows best in semi-shade. It will grow it in full sun but will need a lot of regular watering.
Suckering can be a problem so be vigilant and remove to prevent the plant spreading, unless you are trying to grow a hedge and are encouraging suckering.
Can be grown under trees, at the back of borders or as hedge.