Medinilla 'Magnifica' also know as Malaysian Orchid. Stunning flowers but I don't think I'd have the patience to look after it. http://www.flowers.org.uk/plants/plants-by-name/m-p/medinilla/
Needs high humidity and a winter temperature of above 12c as it is tropical not an average house plant although it is now increasingly being sold as such. These plants are much cheaper than in the past (I mean the 80's/90's) due to, like nearly all house plants, they are grown by tissue culture in the Far East very cheaply.
Yes I have tried to grow it. I think I am on my third one. As Strongy says they are more common now, and they can be cheaper, but I suspect that its still regarded as an up market plant usually with an upmarket price. There is no problem over the summer, but keeping them overwinter is testing. I have failed so far. However I am more hopeful of my current one, which I bought in September in a street market in Stratford on Avon for the surprising price of just £4. Like the others, I am keeping it at 12C over the winter, but this time I am giving it very little water. I think I have killed a lot of stuff by over watering in winter. This time I can see new leaves growing - so I am keeping my fingers crossed.
This thread has prompted me to Google further. Its a epiphyte from the Philipines, and likes it hot and humid. So its not that easy as a house plant. All sites say that it should not be kept constantly moist, and that the compost should be allowed to dry before its watered. Although in the heat of summer it can probably use a lot of water, like most plants. In my case, all my plants are overwintered at 12C in a conservatory that, in winter, is often at 90% or 100% humidity. When the humidity is that high, I suspect that many tropicals that are almost dormant over the winter hardly need watering at all. My attention to watering was raised when I was told by a breeder that Mandevillas should only be given a one cupful of water per month over the winter - and that's without high humidity.
I've been tempted by it a few times but so far I've resisted. If you succeed this time then you really do have to try Tacca chantriei.
I killed one one winter. But I would love to try again. Again I suspect that I over watered it. When you have plants like bananas that like a lot of water, its so easy to give everything a splash in winter, when in fact many plants really don't want any. The difficulty is - finding a Tacca, especially at a reasonable price. I don't like paying too much for a plant that is likely to die on me.
