Ok--How do we get this guy to BLOOM? Last year, I planted it blooming.........believe it or not, it survived the winter, came back nice & thick, but no blooms!
What's the trick?
MKJ
Duranta repens 'Sapphire Showers'
I over wintered mine in the house 2 years ago and when I put it out for the summer it never bloomed again. They bloom on new growth, and mine did have a fair amount. I really don't know why it didn't re-bloom. It seems they bloom for about 6 weeks then stop until new branches are mature enough to bloom. I'll be using them as annuals until I find a different way. They sure are pretty.
I have a white duranta that I overwintered in a pot on my patio. I cut it back to about 8" high in February, and it has just begun blooming in the last 2 weeks. I fed it with some "super bloom" granulated fertilizer (don't have the cannister handy). It looks great right now. I'll try to get a photo. The only complaint I have is that it seems to grow outward, instead of upward. It's a low shrub at this point. I'll pay more attention next year when I cut it back and try to leave some upward branches. I work at a church with beautiful grounds. They have these plants in the ground and in pots and they're HUGE! The gardeners cut the ones in the ground back to about 2' high every early spring. They come back beautifully. I'll get a photo of that, too...when I go back to work tomorrow. :( What a wonderful, rare, long weekend! Happy 4th!
My Duranta repens has a "droopy" growth habit. I think that is how it naturally grows. I have had mine 3 years now and it is still growing more horizontally than vertically. I have it in a very large container that is placed on top of 2 sets of 3 cinderblocks turned on their sides and stacked upon each other. I found that it It needs a lot of sun in order for it to produce blooms. Mine started blooming a few weeks ago like the one belonging to AwShucks (just love your name) and does so when the weather has warmed up a lot. We had a fairly cool spring, so it started blooming a little later than usual. Once mine starts blooming, it does not stop until late in the fall. I have always read that they can't handle freezes. A neighbor has had one in the ground for at least 15 years and it is huge(has a weeping habit, but is tall). I have been afraid to prune mine because it seems to grow slowly compared to other plants. I have read that one should add 12-6-8 fertilizer with micronutrients along the drip line in June and September.
mkjones, maybe it is just a little behind my plant because you are one zone before mine and you were cooler for a longer period in the spring. Look for buds to start forming now. If you haven't fertilized it, do so now and soak it really well after fertilizing it.
Remember that the fruits are not edible.
Photo taken in November:
http://davesgarden.com/pf/showimage/30330/
Photo taken in June:
http://davesgarden.com/pf/showimage/45725/
MKJ, I have 2 that are in the ground, and died to the ground this "winter". Both have come back but neither have bloomed yet. I know my soil is low in P, so I recently put out a little bone meal in some areas to try. I did see buds on one that I was near, so I am betting the other one will have them too. My mother got hers at the same time, it died all the way back, came back and is now blooming. She is just across town from me, but my ground gets colder than hers and warms up later. Don't give up yet!
Oh, good! I'll douse it w/some good fert. and sit back waiting for blooms then! THANKS all!
Maybe I'll get to post some pics soon.......=)
MKJ
My duranta repens is in the ground and in full sun. It wasn't blooming until I gave it a loooong, sloooow drink of water. 2 days later it's was covered in blooms.
My 2 white duranta are young, stay in deep shade, in pots, staying fairly moist most of the time. They are just now starting to bloom again after having bloomed quite a bit in May and April. (They were in full sun at the time as the pecan tree hadn't fully leafed out yet.) The third one, the smallest of the 3, is in a pot in full sun and just finished with a rash of blooming.
I fertilize none of mine, save for what's in the potting soil at the time of planting.
Wish I could tell you about my 'Shapphire Showers' but it has only just this last week put on enough roots to be transplanted outdoors and the newest variety is still working on some. ;->
I think after seeing the experiences of others i will try putting mine in the ground in a somewhat protected area. I absolutely love this plant and wound be pleased if it could grow to it's true potential.
Durantha erecta (which is a synonym for Durantha repens, I think) is very easy to root from cuttings. My neighbor had one growing near the eaves of their house and it was getting up above the windows. I came out one day about noon and found that their gardener (they live in Rhode Island during the summers) had pruned the plant and stacked the cuttings out near the curb for the Garbage collectors. This had probably been done several hours before and the removed limbs had been laying in full sun and had wilted. I dug down in the stack and removed some of the more likely looking branches near the bottom (somewhat less wilted) and took cuttings from them and almost every cutting took root and grew. I now have seven of them. Unfortunately, this particular variety has thorns. I would much prefer the thornless variety but they have bloomed for two years now. Here they recommend that you cut them back to the ground after the last frost in the spring (we haven't had any Frost in the last two winters). They are supposed to come back bushier and stronger than ever.
edfinney, thanks for stopping by and providing information about this plant. I too have started rooted cuttings using the semi-hard wood. Durantha repens is one of its synonyms.
Ed, how horrible for your neighbor! Did theirs grow back? Did you root one for them? lol I fell in love with this plant at the TX Discovery Gardens Butterfly Exhibit a few years ago. I saw it last year at a little local landscaping nursery. Out of the tons of potted things laying around, I spotted it and was ecstatic! We searched thru tons of stuff and finally located one more for my mom. Then a few months later Wal-Mart was carrying them! Mine does not have any thorns tho. (yay!)
Mine is starting to bloom!
koncreteblond, aren't those blooms great! I always anxiously await for mine to start blooming. My husband always raves about them. The blooms are even prettier now despite the extremely hot weather. Being in a large container, it has required extra water as have most of my plants. When the leaves start to lighten in color, I give it a little fertilizer.