This Mexican plant, Beloperone guttata, is easy to grow in a sunny window or greenhouse.
Its common name comes from the long shrimp-like bracts of red-brown, which overlap like shingles.
The actual flowers, white spotted with purple, go almost unnoticed—you can barely see them protruding from the ends of the bracts in the picture above.
Proper Planting Practices
Give shrimp plant a soil mixture of equal parts sand, compost, and leafmold.
It likes lots of water and needs pruning back after flowering to encourage a bushy shape.
It blooms most heavily from April to November, but if you keep it in a sunny winter window, it will likely surprise you by blooming off schedule.
In a sunny greenhouse, it takes on the proportions of a small shrub, as you can see below.
If you want to increase your supply of plants, take 3-inch cuttings to root in moist sand.
They have been known to flower almost as soon as roots are established, so you will have lots of miniatures to present to your friends.