Help needed - one for the plant finders here

OK, I am looking for seed for Tibouchina grossa..................




Its natural habitat is anything up to 3000 metres up the Colombian Andes. That will not make it hardy in the UK but it does appear to make seed for it rarer than rocking horse shino!

Any ideas anyone?

 

I would have suggest to organise a trip over there as i need few plants as well , but you know , Colombian andes and cocaine traffic go togheter very well .. bit too danger , I`ll pass this one .
on the other end
sometime i try to serch in different language

like tibourchina roja

http://plantas.facilisimo.com/foros/arboles-y-arbustos/ficha-de-la-tibouchina_813653.html

 

Has it got a synonym, longk? I've just had a look on B&T World Seeds site and they list a lot of Tibouchinas (even if they don't stock all of them) but no mention of grossa

 

That has been observed upon! Judging by the interest this has generated on forums since I posted it maybe the traffickers should start carrying seeds for this!

No Tibouchina at all.
Or maybe you're suggesting that we pump them up to risk the coke barons for us

There are over three hundred species! I found some interesting Lobelia there though!!!

 

@longk
Could try here http://elrefugionatura.jimdo.com/index-of-seeds/

 

Hardiness Zone. High Altitude, Columbia. Zone 12. Eeeek! Is it evergreen, LongK?

 

LongK - good question - you have got me looking for seeds and I wasn't going to start till the new year.

I never realised there were so many Tibouchinas and I really liked Sal's link.

Like Nigel the only possible source I could find was http://elrefugionatura.jimdo.com/index-of-seeds/ they imply that they have it.

Googling Brazil seeds produced
http://www.brazilplants.com/Seeds.html
It has a few Tibouchina but not grossa - but interesting anyway.

Googling Chile seeds came up with - well not much - but interesting
http://www.chileflora.com/Florachilena/FloraEnglish/ESeeds.htm?G_LANG=E
http://sacredsucculents.com/rare-beneficial-plants-from-chile/

Googling Colombia seeds came up with masses of marijuana and Chile seeds - chili seeds

 

I've used the Chile flora site for reference in the past and found it useful.

I'm up for a trip over there, it would make a change from Nepal. Have to be 2016 though I'm committed for 2015 though.

 

Longk , back in September I went to Kew , in their nursery and every greehouse had a different habitat , many plants coming from the andes rain forest will not even make it inside our house ... do you remember the passiflora tree ? it comes from there as well and it need so much attention , soil , drop of daily temperature , artificial fog and so on ... some plants are just too hard to grow , but at the same time there are loads of plants that are coming from there that are easy to grow ... you may be lucky with that ...what i would do is try on facebook as well there are many group aroun the world , I found so many peoples and sometime they can help you

 

Top reply Nigel - email sent!

No idea - I saw it and I want it!!

That link almost makes me wish I'd not started this thread! There are some special Alstromeria, Hippaestrum and loads of other things. Did you see some of the Gesneriads!

That's the challenge and fun of being an amateur Sal!

 

Tibouchina grandiflora. This is one that I would like to try. It holds its flowers in spikes above the foliage, unlike the normal urvilleana.

 

AKA Tibouchina heteromalla. It has larger leaves also.

 

I got a reply - US$40 per seed pod

I may wait a while...............

 

How Much!!!! Gold Plated and hand couriered I hope for that much.
Might explain why they are on the scarce side.