Saturday, July 25, 2009

Chrysothemis pulchella 'Black Flamingo'.....this is not your grandmother's Gloxinia, er Gesneriad

Evanescent yellow flowers, persistent orange calyxes, pretty nice. And it can get a couple feet high and as wide. Excellent Caribbean plant. I never heard of it. It's such a spectacular plant that many many people grow it and I've read lots of posts and followed a few threads. Apparently the plants sometimes form tubers, sometimes not. Hardiness is also a question. The dormancy is dry/wet but some sources suggest a hardiness of USDA Zone 9 which would make it work for us. Others suggest, a bit warmer. I seem to see a pattern of success with plants outside just a bit farther south than we are. So it's coming north and will winter inside in a pot. Still, apparently it will grow and flower so long as the weather stays hot and humid and it doesn't dry out.

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