Pavonia lasiopetala (Texas Rock Rose), a sprawling deciduous perennial. In my zone (9a), grows to be 3-4'H x 4-5'W in 1-2 years, then stays that size. That is wider than any description I read before I planted it.

Full sun to part shade. Tolerates clay soil & drought. Reseeds a handful of seedlings per year, usually directly underneath or near the mother plant.

A tough native of the Chihuahuan desert that also took the humid heat and heavy rain of my climate in stride. Neither the leaves nor the flowers ever looked thirsty, tired, diseased, or rain-beaten.

Great rebloom without deadheading, proportional in size to the most recent rain. Has at least some blooms on it all spring, summer, and fall, and puts on a big show a few days after every big rain.

No fragrance.

I only wish that I liked hot pink more! If you love bold color and you live in the subtropics, you should have this plant! Stick it in the ground where it has space to sprawl, and walk away.

Does not like to be transplanted once mature. I've killed two of them by transplanting them. If you want it in a new spot, it's probably better to lift up the branches and see if you can dig out a seedling than to try to move the mother plant.

Some sources say it's short-lived. I've never had one up-and-die for no reason, but I had it in my garden no more than 5 years, so I can't say if it was short-lived for me.

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This plant is remarkable due to the fact that almost nothing short of a hard freeze shuts down flowering. In 2011, in Texas, we had a severe drought and temps in the triple digits for days and days. My yard was severely damaged: 100-year-old Oak trees died! The last man standing was this one. Among all the dead, brown plants that had once been my perennial border, were wands of cheerful pink flowers. Honestly, it was the only thing still going and I had long since given up watering. Self seeds a bit, just enough so that you will never have to purchase one again. This plant would be a good backbone for any hard-scrabble type flower garden.
I have a lot of respect for this plant now.

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Pavonia grows as a perennial in my Zone 7b. The blooms are quite prolific in partial sun with flowers starting in early spring and continuing until November. I see lots of butterflies visiting, but especially Skippers, as well as the hummingbirds.

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This is a very hardy plant that requires very little water. I have mine planted in full sun in clay soil that hasn't been amended. I've noticed a lot of Grey Hairstreak butterflies visiting this plant and I've also noticed bumblebees flocking to this plant.

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