not a hoya

but a Chilean bell flower. It finally bloomed and I didnt even know it had buds on it. I bought this plant on ebay a little over a year ago. They seem to be very expensive and hard to come by!

I found the flower totally by accident when I was watering some stuff in the gh a few days ago. The bloom is about 3 1/2 - 4" in length and has a very thick, heavy waxy texture to it. I smelled it but cant detect any fragrance.

The pic was taken using my cell phone. So since I cant quite get the knack of how to use my digital camera yet,i'll start taking some hoya pics with my phone and post them!!

dmichael

Congratulations Dmichael . It sure is purty .
Patti

dmichael - that is wonderful!! I lost my two chilean bellflowers this summer (greenhouse got too hot!) I had bought one at the Berekely Botanical Garden sale a year or so ago, and got the other on ebay. They are one of my favorites, and I plan to replace them! Beautiful!! Karen

Karen...when you find them, can you let me know? I would love to grow some; they grew wild all over the islands we visited when we were down there...I really love them!!! I think they would grow here in the shade, don't you? we never get TOO warm (rarely above 85 deg. in summer).

dm...really pretty!!!

Carol - I will!! They would probably grow beautifully in your environment!! Karen

Thanks Karen!!! One of my quiet little plans is planting 'plant memories' from my past and from our Sailboat ventures...growing momentos. My first didn't work out: New Zealand, to me, was Agapanthus (blue) and Canna (reds and yellows) growing at the entrances to houses. Alas...we get too much rain and the Canna get rust and life is too short to go around spraying all the time... So, I had to settle for Agapanthus!!!! sans Canna. Southern Chile actually grows the MOST magnificent roses...spectacular!!!! But the 'bellflower' is wild (and I think it is the national flower of Chile...or at least the Southern Region)...and a beautiful treat in an otherwise fairly GREEN landscape. Surprise...we did find ONE clump of hardy bromiliads growing in a sheltered bay... it was amazing. The corresponding latitude must have been around Seattle/Vancouve BC.

dmichael... Love that photo, Lapageria's are gorgeous.Your cell does lovely photos, you really should use it more we enjoy the photos! They are the national flower for ChilliI. have a few that I started from seed so it will be awhile before they bloom. I went through many hoops just to get the seed. It is not easy to find places that will ship anything plant related to Canada. Oh how I long for so many tropicals that are available in the US. I so wish that line in the sand didn't exist:) To make matters worse I can see the lights of WA just across the ocean and all I can do is drool:)

Carol.... I have several sites bookmarked with either excellent info about these or a place to get them in San Francisco. Can I post web site links for this? Not sure of the rules but if it is ok I will. They have the rosea and white ones but also every color inbetween. Just gorgeous!! I want one of each I am so greedy, but I really do like them:) Next summer we had planned on a trip to CA but were also invited to go to Hawaii. You can bet if I get to CA I will be bringing some home. I am very torn about where I will go for holidays can't afford to go to both places time or money hehe. Now if I could find someone in San Francisco to ship them to me that would solve the delima. Oh well if I don't get them next year I will aim for the year after. I have it bad don't I? Perhaps I should just send a dmail. Let me know what's best.
They would grow where you are and here in the PNW as we both get a lot of rain and the coolness that comes with it. They do prefer shade and would crawl up the trees alongside you hoyas.

Bea

Yes, Bea...you can post the link...no problem. Well, I am glad you are coming to Hawaii!!! Maybe you can ship yours here and pick it up and smuggle it back! LOL.

Really a cool flower, I love the brilliant pink color.

Carol...
Oh I would be so tempted to send them your way if only they would ship but they don't. You and I are both going to have to go to San Francisco if we are going to get some of these from their fabulous collection. How about who ever gets there first make a purchase and ship to the other:)

This first site has a lot of very good info. Get a cup of coffee and look around at all the links he has. It tells of the hundred year old history, propagation (which is difficult) and growing conditions and much much more.


http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/lapageria/myhomepage/garden.html

Then go here and see the collection. Warning you will need a tissue to wipe your mouth if you drool or your tears because you can only get them at their spring or fall sale. I am told you need to have running shoes on to get them in the first 15 or 30 minutes:) Being a member gets you in early so you can shop before everyone else.

http://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu/shop/index.html

I think but I am not certain Strybing Arboretum & Botanical Gardens in San Francisco also has some but not as many. Could be wrong though.

By the way the ones I started from seed took 3 months to germinate, they grow very slow and will take 3 to 4 years to bloom. The seed has to be fresh. I tried many packages of seed before I got a couple to germinate and I think that was because of the freshness of the seed.. You will read on some of those sites that they don't propagate from cuttings very well. I think they would be worth the trouble if you can just get a start, as they are so pretty.

Bea

Bea - I was in San Francisco last year for a business conference and was lucky enough to hit the sale at the Berkeley Botanical Gardens. It was fabulous all around, however, the lapagerias were INCREDIBLE!!!! I fell in love!! They are truley spectacular! I'd love to go back just to get a few more!! Karen

http://rareplants.eleonorengland.com/


I found this source a few days ago. Just wanted to do some reading about them and find out how to propogate the plant.

Most of the hybrids are sold out but check out the prices they went for!!


I'd love to have that worsleya raneri/blue amaryllis this place has but i'm afraid i'd become homeless after paying what that plant is going to end up selling for.

It is curently on ebay up for auction and if you look to the left once you open the link you'll see auctions listed,click it and you'll see what the worsleya is going for.


dmichael

This message was edited Dec 15, 2006 8:38 AM

Beautiful color...congrats and enjoy!

Karen.... Wow you were so lucky to have been able to go to their sale. That must have been so much fun. I am told they also have beautiful passiflora's. I bet it was great to see the lapageria's up close rather than photo's. Did they have all the different named varieties? Which ones did you have? Let me know if you happen to go again if I am lucky I could meet up with you and have lunch with our new plants:) If I go and that is still an if at this point, I would be happy to ship one your way if you don't get there first. You too Carol just let me know what you want.

dmichael.... They have some very neat stuuf at the site you mentioned. I can sure see why you would like the amarylis, like you I think I would be sleeping in the greenhouse or the like if I paid that much for a plant:) Isn't it nice to have dreams.

Bea

Bea - Unfortunately, I probably won't be back in San Francisco - unless they hold that conference there again! I would have loved to meet a fellow hoya-lover and have lunch!! Hmmm...just may take you up on your offer to ship a lapageria, though, if you do go!! The lapagerias were stunning "in person." The flowers almost didn't look real! Can't remember the names, but the blooms were different colors - it was so difficult to choose one to buy. The one I bought did bloom for me here in Illinois a few times, before it died a sad death in my greenhouse (too hot - lesson learned). ALL the plants at that sale were wonderful, and yes, they did have passifloras - but the lapagerias stole the show for me!! Karen

Karen I am so jealous:) Wished I had been there and now sure hope I get there next year. Will keep in touch if I do make it.

Bea

We do grow and sell them at Strybing. My friend grows them and does a great job, most are grown at her home and she trucks them to the sales. We have both named and un-named seedlings and the price is great. I think the one gallon size goes for about $20-25. I'll have to check. If anyone is in the area, our first sale of 2007 is on Feb 10. I try and post when we're having one in the California forum but one can visit the arboretum web page for all the dates. www.sfbotanicalgarden.org

We also sell tons of passiflora, some rare and others not so rare but they are incredible! And believe it or not, we even sell Hoya! I've started propagating more so we should have some starts to sell in Feb or March.

begoniacrazi.......... Oh that is good news! hmmmmm now maybe I could drop some casual hints for a valentines gift:)) The prices are very good. Just think in one arm lots of Hoyas and in the other arm Lapageria and Passiflora's.

Do you know how your friend is able to propagate them? Everything I have read says they are difficult even from seed. I would assume the named ones are from cuttings, would love to know how they do it. Thanks for the link I will be checking it soon.

dmichael ........I really like that photo you posted. What a neat surprise!

I believe she does them via cuttings. I'll ask her next time I see her. I normally go to the greenhouses on Wednesdays but tomorrow I'm taking my MIL to the oncologist so I wont likely go until Friday. If I'm not mistaken, she'll put the cuttings on a heated propagation bench that gets misted regularly. I've only really paid attention to how she propagates the passiflora, which goes into perlite or a perlite/vermiculite mix.

I have one growing in my greenhouse right now which has only just been heated the last few days with this 22º weather we're having. It seems pretty content so far. I asked her to just pick out one I could try growing so I dont know the seedling cross on it. So I know it took the 40's with out any problems.

mommum,

That pic as you can see was taken on (12/12/06). The bloom had already been open for at least 3 days before I took the pic and would you beleive that today (12/19/06) 10 days after it first opened it still is open and looks as fresh as it did on day one?

I checked it today and it shows no signs of starting to wilt at all.

dmichael

Oh, pleeeze...I want one!!! or ten!!!

As far as cold temps...in Chile that puppy lives thru cold/wind/storms/pounding rain... gotta be tough!!! Altho' they are generally growing in sheltered areas...but how much difference can THAT make when the temps are down and the winds are howling?!!!!!

Would yo beleive that today (12/29),17 days after first taking this picture that the flower is still open!! It is finally starting to show some very minor signs of decomposing but for the most part it is still in pretty good shape considering that it has been open for almost 3 weeks now.


dmichael

Hey, if anyone is interested in pitcher plants, Michael Miyashiro (a hoya god in his own right) has some glorious pictures of this other passion listed on this site: http://pitcherplants.proboards34.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=general&thread=1166937629&page=1#1167279557
Ann

Wow ... that is lasting an incredible long time and still just gorgeous. Thanks for sharing with us dmichael!

Ann.... another different and nice plants, thanks for the link. Which one is Michael M's? Neat colors and shapes.

Bea