What's Looking Exotic In October 2013

These names are very confusing. Having just learnt the name Asarina, you now tell me its Maurandya and I gather also Lophospermum as well. Whilst they look the same I gather scandans and barclaiana species are different (or are they ?). Wilkipedia quotes Asarina as having both scandans and barclaiana as seperate species.

I have seen it quoted as Zone 9, which actually goes down to -7C. I hope it will overwinter frost free, but I wouldn't trust it much below.

 

I seem to remember overwintering them as cuttings, or maybe that was something else?

 

That's hilarious Pete!

 

I'll take a close up of the flowers tomorrow, but mine looks remarkably like your earlier picture. Perhaps the seed I got was wrongly labelled ...

 

P.S. Sorry ... pressed SAVE before thinking fully. I also bought some seed of Asarina Victoria Falls last year. Its possible my plants are that, might have got mixed up given that I had seed of that and the Maurandya.

Is "Victoria Falls" the same as scandans? Nicky's Nursery lists it as a conservatory perennial (and it has "purpusii" in brackets)

 

Kristen, I think the name Maurandya has now replaced Asarina, but people often resent name changes and still use the old one. There are many people that still call Brugmansia - Datura.

I note that all the sites say purpusii for "Victoria Falls". However as soon as a plant gets a cultivar name it suggests that it might be a hybrid of one or more similar species - so it all becomes a bit meaningless.

Even so its still a lovely plant that seems to be available in a range of colours - so I will grow it again. And it flowered well for me as an annual - so perhaps it doesn't even matter it it overwinters. I find there are quite a few tender perennials that are just as good, if not better, as annuals. Salvia patens and coccinea spring to mind. And I still can't get over the fact that Brugmansia from seed can grow 7 feet in a season and flower, but some of my cuttings have only grown 1 foot in their second season and not flowered.

 

OK ... but I had just convinced myself it was the other way round!

RHS say that Antirrhinum asarina is Asarnia procumbens :(
and

• Maurandya – Asarina

• Lophospermum – Maurandya

• Lophospermum – Asarina

http://apps.rhs.org.uk/rhsplantfinder/plantnaming/reversesynonyms.asp#a

:(

I might have a look in the index of my books authored by Christo Lloyd - he was always very vocal, and scathing, about name changes

 

Its probably changed since his day.

 

Passiflora alata.................


I bought it indoors last weekend as the buds were blasting in the greenhouse. Too tender to spend the winter out there anyway.

 

The Hedychium greenii is looking quite good now

 

I'm also certain that I've had longer inflorescences on Hedychium greenii in previous years, but mine have been like yours this year ... apart from their ease of propagation if they don't improve I'm going to find them a new owner