Re: Tecomanthe speciosa (was Hardiness of Several Subtropical Plants

david feix wrote:
> 
> Moira,
> Thanks for telling me about the Tecomanthe speciosa
> that you have seen there in New Zealand, and it sounds
> like the flowers are showier than I had thought, based
> on the descriptions I had read.  My vine has yet to
> bloom, but the foliage alone is truly exotic looking,
> and although the growth rate is like that of a
> wisteria vine, it is somewhat subdued in my garden
> because it is still in a 15 gallon pot, and even so
> has grown 20 to 30 foot long lianas.  I probably
> should get it into the ground, but hopefully it will
> bloom eventually even so. 

If your climate is a wee bit on the borderline I would think keeping it
in the pot would actually help blooming. Root restriction can be quite
effective in stimulating flowering sometimes. One can notice this quite
frequently  if buying a shub (A Camellia, for instance) that it may be
in full flower, though quite small. Planted out in the garden it will
swing into strong vegetative growth and than may not set flower buds
again for two or three years. I suppose the precocious flowering is some
sort of survival urge.

I would think in any case it would not in nature have either a deep or a
very fertile soil, so too much feeding could also discourage flowering.
Feeding with some actual seaweed or some kelp powder, could however be
appreciated. The island it grows on (and remember only a single wild 
specimaen has ever been found) is Great Island in the Three Kings group
off the NE coast at 34 degrees south (about the latitiude of Los
Angeles). In spite of its name the island is only about a square mile in
area and I would guess is probably pretty rocky, One would wonder that
there was only one remaining of anything so apparently vigorous as the
Tecomanthe, but I gather when found it was fighting a losing battle with
goats.


  I am hoping that it doesn't require
> summer heat to bloom well, as our summer temps here in
> Berkeley are also rarely above 80F, and the night time
> temps are always back down to 53 to 56F, even at the
> height of summer!  It is the one thing I lament about
> living in Berkeley or northern coastal California in
> general, is that we hardly ever get any warm nights!
> I guess I should move to San Diego or Santa Barbara!
> Again, thanks for the info.

These certainly do seem to be surprisingly cool night temps. Here for
instance we get quite similar day highs to you in summer, but our night
temps wouldn't normally go so low. Could you perhaps site your pot in an
area where a west-facing wall or paving could store up a bit of extra
heat in the daytime?

Moira
-- 
Tony & Moira Ryan <theryans@xtra.co.nz>
Wainuiomata (near Wellington, capital city of New Zealand)
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index