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Little River Cooperative

Ti-lo

$12.00 USD
$12.00 USD
Sale Sold out

Ti-lo
Justicia pectoralis

days to maturity:
plant spacing: 1 plant every square foot
sunlight requirements: up to 6 hours, shade loving
look out for: mealy bugs
harvest notes: can become leggy if not harvested or pruned
perennial

Ti-lo is mounding perennial herb native to tropical regions of South America and the Caribbean. Commonly known as Water Willow, Ti-lo has many names such as in chapantye or zeb chapantye in Haiti. Other folk names include freshcut, chamba, curia, death angel or piri piri.

Often cultivated for it’s foliage, above ground parts are often brewed as a relaxing tea and general medicinal tonic with a wide range of uses, including ceremoniously. An important herb in times of flux or change, Tilo calms the heart and eases anxiety. It’s a nervine with an affinity for the chest and pectorals, indicated through its Latin name pectoralis. This herb is also good for those experiencing sleeplessness or nightmares because of its sedative and calming attributes. 

Its dark green leaves and stems containing coumarin, an anticoagulant, so if one is on prescription anticoagulants like warfarin, it is not recommended to consume Tilo, especially without contacting your medical practitioner. Our resident herbalist, The Garden Jules says: The flavor profile is sweet with a slight bitterness similar to a bitter amaretto. It makes a delicious herb for syrups or elixirs, syrups being water and sweetener preparations and elixirs being alcohol and sweetener preparations. I love to combine this herb with roses for a heart opening tisane. Specifically indicated for anxiety dealing with the heart, indicated by a racing heart, tight chest feeling, or heart palpitations. Be careful not to confuse this plant with Linden Tree which grows in more temperate climates and is often referred to by its Latin name of Tilia.”

Till thrives in moist soil conditions and can take full or partial sun, with full sun making the plant shorter and the leaves less tender. This plant is very easy to propagate from cuttings since it roots very readily from its joints down at the very base of the plant. 

Materials

All of our plants are produced using OMRI certified organic materials (potting mix, fertilizer & pesticides) however our nursery is not certified organic. Plants are shipped in compostable peat moss pots and we use heirloom & organic seeds whenever possible.

Shipping & Returns

We ship plant orders every Monday. Due to the nature of shipping plants we only offer expedited shipping for our live plant orders. Our returns & exchanges policy is also quite strict since its hard to control the quality of a plant once it leaves our facility, however we do our very best to make sure that each and every customer is satisfied with their plants. Read more about our policies here. 

Size

All of our plants are potted in 4" pots and their foliage size varies based on how large the plant is naturally when its root ball is the correct size for the pot. If a plant is too tall for our shipping box we may prune it to fit (bonus: many plants do better after being pruned since they make bushier growth). We do our very best to ship all of our plants in the "sweet spot" of maturity however so long as the roots have colonized the pot we will consider a plant mature enough to ship.

Care Instructions

When you receive your plant its critical to get it out of its box and into the light the day it arrives. It will also want to be removed from its compostable plastic wrapping and given fresh water to drink. Keep in mind, this plant was grown in the tropical humid climate of South Florida, so if it's terribly cold or dry where you are it'll need to be hardened off before planting outdoors. Visit our care instructions page for more thorough info about caring for your new plant friend.

  • What Our Customers Have to Say:

    This is a great, local organization with really knowledgeable & friendly staff. They make gardening easy and accessible, and I've purchased many high quality plants and equipment from them.
    -Kate Black (5 star google review)

  • And Another One:

    How lucky we are to have a resource like Little River Cooperative here in Miami, not only for the access they offer to a great selection of plants and produce, but also for the knowledge they provide and the sense of community they foster!
    -Nick Vagnoni (5 star google review)