Megaskepasma erythrochlamys

[LJG]

I was in Vietnam for 2 1/2 weeks and when I got back, this is what I found. This is the first time it has bloomed like this. In fact it is the first time it has bloomed in 3 years. This plant pretty much died back from 2007 freeze but grew back.

[joe_OC]

Very nice, Len...

How was VN?

J

[LJG]

Very nice, Len...

How was VN?

J

Awesome! We did Hanoi, Sapa, Halong Bay and na Trang. I could have skipped Na Trang and did something else. Hanoi grew on us over time. Halong Bay had too many Chinese tourist (1000s of them) and that place will be destroyed in no time now that they are developing it. Sapa was the best!

[joe_OC]

Did you collect any L. radula seeds?

[LJG]

Did you collect any L. radula seeds?

Hardly saw any palms. But I have 100 seed coming of "L. radula". Did you order from Gary in China?

[joe_OC]

Hope you will be posting pics of your trip to VN...

[MattyB]

Pretty plant Len. Looks similar to a plant I'm growing; I think it's called Justica carnea. Yours looks bigger and more spectacular though.

[Xenon]

Cool plant! I'd love to see pictures of Vietnam too...were there any Cocos around Hanoi?

Jonathan

[Al in Kona]

Hi LJG, yes, that Brazilian Cloak (Megaskepasma erythrochlamys) is a very nice flowering shrub. It also does well here, infact it tends to set a lot of seed and volunteers come up in different areas of the garden. Not a problem tho as they pull out easily if I don't want one in a particular area. Once established they are quite drought resistant as well. They tend to flower some almost all year long. However even when not in flower the big tropical leaves add interest to the garden. Here's a pic of one in full flower in the garden . . .

[bahia]

I congratulate you on successfully getting this to bloom there in southern California. I once tried growing this here in Berkeley, after seeing it growing in Kandy, Sri Lanka,(it was easily 15 feet tall by across), but it didn't like our winters up here, even when it didn't drop below 35F. I had gotten my plant from Kartuz Greenhouses, but have come to believe that it wants warmer winter days than we can provide here in the SF Bay Area, even when there isn't a chance of it freezing at night in winter. It sounds like the nearly year round blooming that it does in Hawaii means the warmer/more humid conditions there are more to its liking.

I also easily grow Justicia carnea and J. aurea up here, which while both individually nice and easy to grow/bloom, don't really match the Megaskepasma in full bloom mode. Unfortunately, the Justicia aurea is also only a seasonal bloomer in our local conditions, whereas I've seen it in southern Mexico where it seems it can bloom all year round as well.

[Dypsisdean]

Len,

Your garden is starting to look pretty good - for a rookie.

[fastfeat]

Well-done, Len. I have yet to personally see it flower in SoCal, though I've sent a few cuttings to people who wanted to try it.

I think it needs a modicum of heat, unlike Justicia carnea. Still, good to know that that level can be met in SoCal coastal valleys.

Bahia--

I'd treat it like a Hibiscus in the Bay Area if you want to have a chance. Give it as warm a spot as possible (south or west wall with an overhang). I doubt you'll have to worry about getting too much heat, except may dessicate in strong Santa Anas. Good luck.

[LJG]

Cool plant! I'd love to see pictures of Vietnam too...were there any Cocos around Hanoi?

Jonathan

I might post a few pics. The odd thing about Hanoi? Hardy any coconuts. Very strange. The #1 palm and one that is being field grown ever where? Roystonia.

[LJG]

Pretty plant Len. Looks similar to a plant I'm growing; I think it's called Justica carnea. Yours looks bigger and more spectacular though.

Wow. I need to get a few of those!

[LJG]

Hi LJG, yes, that Brazilian Cloak (Megaskepasma erythrochlamys) is a very nice flowering shrub. It also does well here, infact it tends to set a lot of seed and volunteers come up in different areas of the garden. Not a problem tho as they pull out easily if I don't want one in a particular area. Once established they are quite drought resistant as well. They tend to flower some almost all year long. However even when not in flower the big tropical leaves add interest to the garden. Here's a pic of one in full flower in the garden . . .

I agree it looks good even when not in bloom. But here you need to spenda lot of time keeping snails of it. They LOVE this plant.

[LJG]

Len,

Your garden is starting to look pretty good - for a rookie.

Thanks Dean. Notice the plant to the left of it?

[Dypsisdean]

Len,

Your garden is starting to look pretty good - for a rookie.

Thanks Dean. Notice the plant to the left of it?

I did.

[Palms1984]

Great looking shrub! I have many in my yard...it's a very easy plant to grow and bloom. My largest plant is 16 years old. I'll post a pic.

[Palms1984]

I congratulate you on successfully getting this to bloom there in southern California. I once tried growing this here in Berkeley, after seeing it growing in Kandy, Sri Lanka,(it was easily 15 feet tall by across), but it didn't like our winters up here, even when it didn't drop below 35F. I had gotten my plant from Kartuz Greenhouses, but have come to believe that it wants warmer winter days than we can provide here in the SF Bay Area, even when there isn't a chance of it freezing at night in winter. It sounds like the nearly year round blooming that it does in Hawaii means the warmer/more humid conditions there are more to its liking.

I also easily grow Justicia carnea and J. aurea up here, which while both individually nice and easy to grow/bloom, don't really match the Megaskepasma in full bloom mode. Unfortunately, the Justicia aurea is also only a seasonal bloomer in our local conditions, whereas I've seen it in southern Mexico where it seems it can bloom all year round as well.

I originally received my plant from a friend in Oakland (who had a large blooming plant). My plant when I lived in Fremont (San Francisco Bay Area) grew and bloomed very well there... it never had any damage from cold either. I have moved it several times over the years...it transplants very easily without any set backs!

[Palms1984]

I congratulate you on successfully getting this to bloom there in southern California. I once tried growing this here in Berkeley, after seeing it growing in Kandy, Sri Lanka,(it was easily 15 feet tall by across), but it didn't like our winters up here, even when it didn't drop below 35F. I had gotten my plant from Kartuz Greenhouses, but have come to believe that it wants warmer winter days than we can provide here in the SF Bay Area, even when there isn't a chance of it freezing at night in winter. It sounds like the nearly year round blooming that it does in Hawaii means the warmer/more humid conditions there are more to its liking.

I also easily grow Justicia carnea and J. aurea up here, which while both individually nice and easy to grow/bloom, don't really match the Megaskepasma in full bloom mode. Unfortunately, the Justicia aurea is also only a seasonal bloomer in our local conditions, whereas I've seen it in southern Mexico where it seems it can bloom all year round as well.

Edited November 25, 2010 by Palms1984

[bahia]

Well maybe the problem was that I started with too small a plant and left it out for the winter after coming from balmy Vista, Ca. It didn't get any frost, but simply melted by February from what I assumed was lack of resistance to chilly and wet winter weather. I've never seen this plant growing here in Oakland or San Francisco, it is interesting to hear that someone in Oakland is successful with it. Although it does surprise me that if it does bloom and grow well here, no one else has picked up on it locally.

For those who are interested in the Justicia carnea, there are selected forms of it with deeper colored blooms and also a purple backed leaf and bracts, known as the "Huntington form" in the trade. There is also a white flowered form, but this one is much more prone to attacks by snails. Locally, Justicia carnea can be in bloom nearly all year round, so ought to be a great choice for complementing palms in coastal southern California. If you like that look, the other Justicia species such as Justicia brandegeana is also a great choice. I'd also recommend other fall into winter bloomers such as Odontonema callistachya, Hypoestes aristata, and various Plectranthus species such as P. ecklonii, P. zuluensis, P. barbatus, P. 'Mona Lavender', and other vividly colored foliage plants such as the red leaf and yellow leafed forms of Iresine herbstii. All of these last mentioned plants bloom quite readily here in the SF Bay Area in late fall/winter, and don't need heat to do well. I might also add to the list such fall bloomers as Montanoa grandiflora, Dahlia imperialis, Salvia madrensis, S. wagneriana, S. involucrata, Tibouchina organensis, to name a few.

[bahia]

Len/Dean,

Is that small tree/large shrub to the left a Metrosideros collina 'Springfire"? At least it looks quite a bit like that, and this is another winter(or almost all year long) blooming thing that does pretty well in milder gardens here in the SF Bay Area.

Another plant that I forgot to recommend for some spectacular fall/winter blooms is the rare Deppea splendens 'Cristobal'. This one has gone extinct in the wild in Chiapas, Mexico, but loves our Bay Area conditions.

[BS Man about Palms]

YAY!!! Len's posting pictures again.

[LJG]

Len/Dean,

Is that small tree/large shrub to the left a Metrosideros collina 'Springfire"? At least it looks quite a bit like that, and this is another winter(or almost all year long) blooming thing that does pretty well in milder gardens here in the SF Bay Area.

Another plant that I forgot to recommend for some spectacular fall/winter blooms is the rare Deppea splendens 'Cristobal'. This one has gone extinct in the wild in Chiapas, Mexico, but loves our Bay Area conditions.

Yes it is. Great plant. This one was transplated and never missed a beat.

Deppea splendens is hard to find.

[peachy]

Len, when I read the blurb on the brazilian red cloak, I knew it wouldnt have a hope of surviving here. However, I ended up buying a little one and planting it. It went up to 3 metres tall and 5 wide by 5 deep and it has survived frosts, freezes down to minus 5, prolonged drought and total neglect. It flowers beautifully from mid summer to mid winter. It's bad point is that it tends to sucker and they are so hard to get out. Mine is cut back by 50% every spring and makes a lovely hedge. I have a Justicia carnea too....flowers a couple of times a year but thats about it. Needs a lot of attention and water and after 12 years is only a metre tall and wide.

Peachy

[LJG]

Peachy, did yours die back to the ground during a -5 freeze?

[Darold Petty]

Deppea splendens is grown by the wholesale nursery San Marcos Growers in Goleta, CA. Any retail nursery doing business with them can order one for you. The plants are nicely grown 5-gallon size. I paid about $45 for mine. It's growing well, but has not yet flowered (just a few months in the ground).

[bahia]

Interesting to hear the various comparisons between the Brazilian Red Cloak(actually only native to Venezuela), and the Justicia carnea. For me, the Justicia carnea is the drought tolerant one, if planted in the shade of the house and clay soil, it does pretty well with just once or twice a month irrigation, but always looks better and more floriferous if it gets better care. I have found that it looks better if it gets pinched back after every wave of bloom so that it doesn't get leggy, and this also encourages more blooms year round. I suspect it may do better with our cooler in general climate, where we seldom get hot.

After hearing Peachy say how hardy it has been for her, and if I had more space in my garden, I would be tempted to try the Megaskepasma again, but instead I went with some of the large Fuchsia species such as F. arborescens and F. paniculata, which give a similar look and leaf size, and do well here by the bay.

Darold,

I wish you had been able to come on the garden tour back in October with the SF Bromeliad Society, as I had a couple of Chamaedorea palms I was hoping to get proper identifications for, and share some ideas for understory plants. While I don't have nearly the diversity of palms as you do, nor the great mature specimens, it would have been fun to have you on that tour. Here's a link to my flickr photos to show you what you missed...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/20217462@N02/

there's more on Annie's Annuals web site flickr page as well, some are overlaps with the first set:

I don't remember whether there are any photos of the Deppea in bloom on these sets, but my 6 foot tall shrub in the backyard has been blooming heavily since late September, and there are some great examples in bloom currently at both Strybing and the UC Berkeley Botanical Garden.

[Shon]

Great lookin plant Len. Garden is lookin really good also. Are they easy to find?

[Bags]

I got a Deppea Splendens through San Marcos growers this summer on Darold's recommendation. It is now blooming nicely.

[peachy]

Peachy, did yours die back to the ground during a -5 freeze?

Its been through 3 big freezes in its lifetime and while all the outer leaves and flowers fried, leaves deep inside the bush were okay or just slightly singed. The very ends of the stems (branches ?) were also shrivelled but within 4 weeks it was back to normal. Meanwhile those Deppeas are gorgeous !! I love fuschias too but they cant take my summer temps here.

[fastfeat]

Well maybe the problem was that I started with too small a plant and left it out for the winter after coming from balmy Vista, Ca. It didn't get any frost, but simply melted by February from what I assumed was lack of resistance to chilly and wet winter weather. I've never seen this plant growing here in Oakland or San Francisco, it is interesting to hear that someone in Oakland is successful with it. Although it does surprise me that if it does bloom and grow well here, no one else has picked up on it locally.

For those who are interested in the Justicia carnea, there are selected forms of it with deeper colored blooms and also a purple backed leaf and bracts, known as the "Huntington form" in the trade. There is also a white flowered form, but this one is much more prone to attacks by snails. Locally, Justicia carnea can be in bloom nearly all year round, so ought to be a great choice for complementing palms in coastal southern California. If you like that look, the other Justicia species such as Justicia brandegeana is also a great choice. I'd also recommend other fall into winter bloomers such as Odontonema callistachya, Hypoestes aristata, and various Plectranthus species such as P. ecklonii, P. zuluensis, P. barbatus, P. 'Mona Lavender', and other vividly colored foliage plants such as the red leaf and yellow leafed forms of Iresine herbstii. All of these last mentioned plants bloom quite readily here in the SF Bay Area in late fall/winter, and don't need heat to do well. I might also add to the list such fall bloomers as Montanoa grandiflora, Dahlia imperialis, Salvia madrensis, S. wagneriana, S. involucrata, Tibouchina organensis, to name a few.

---------------

I'd include Mackaya bella, Iochroma fuchsioides, and Cantua buxifolia with that list as well.

[bahia]

Fastfeet,

All things that I also have in my own garden, but the Mackaya bella and Cantua buxifolia don't bloom fall through winter for me here in Berkeley, but later in spring for the Mackaya, and summer into fall for the Cantua. All of the various Iochroma species do great here near the coast, and bloom virtually all year round, as long as they don't freeze.

[fastfeat]

For folks who get up into the South Bay/LAX area, Hawthorne Nursery has a lot of these in 3gal cans. Business there (like most other nurseries) is slow, so I'm sure they'll deal, especially if you want a few of them. Talk to David...

[bahia]

I don't think the Deppea splendens would like hot situations, it seems to do best here in California with coastal influence, and may actually grow better here in frost free parts of the San Francisco Bay Area than in southern California. The plant was first brought back to California by Dr. Dennis Breedlove of the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park while he was researching cloud forest plants in Oaxaca/Chiapas. I understand it is now extinct in the wild, at least the original site for this was turned into cow pasture by the time Dr. Breedlove returned again. He is our local expert on all things in the Melastome family, and the Deppea was grown on at both Strybing(now San Francisco Botanical Garden) and UC Berkeley Botanic Garden, and also distributed to the Huntington, and Mildred Mathias Botanic Gardens, and probably also Quail. I think there were originally up to 8 different clones, but possibly only 2 remain, and San Marcos Growers is selling one clone that they call Cristobal. I guess there is also another species of Deppea with quite different foliage, habit and less exotic yellow flowers, but I haven't seen this one live. Hummingbirds absolutely love the Deppea splendens, and it blooms for about 4 to 5 months in my Berkeley garden, with my oldest plant about 7 feet tall now. My plant has never set seed, that I can tell, and if the plant is stressed in any way, it usually gets badly attacked by scale.

[BS Man about Palms]

YAY!!! Len's posting pictures again.

Well, THAT was short lived...

[Randall SD]

Deppea splendens has done very well for me here in Southern California located in San Diego about eight miles from the coast. I have two clones, Cristobal and Augusten both planted togeather against the north side of my house. They're both about eight feet tall now and have set seed pods with viable seeds. One of my seedlings made a nice trade for rooted Megaskepasma erythrochlamys cuttings yesterday. Walter Anderson Nursery in San Diego had some five gallon Cristabal clones from San Marcos growers last time I was there about a month ago.

There's a very nice example of a Augusten in the Botanical Building in Balboa Park.

Nice blooms Bags, if your ever interested in Augusten pollen let me know. It's free.

Cristobal flowers on the left and Augusten on the right

Cristobal seed pods

Non-clones at last, seedlings at about seven months.

Edited December 10, 2010 by Randall SD

[Bags]

Randall,

I'd love some. Unfortunately my last seedling just died from the Seeds you sent me. I'll send you a PM. Aaron

[LJG]

Here it is a year later. It is really looking great.

[Gtlevine]

Here it is a year later. It is really looking great.

No matter how often I'm over you always have something that gets by me. That is really a beautiful tree, remind me next time to look at it.