Anyone growing 'hoffmannia'?

[Donald Sanders]

I collected seeds from a beautiful 'hoffmannia' in Brazil. I have researched this beautiful leaf plant on the Internet. Seeds are germinating and I was wondering if anyone has experience growing it.

Mahalo. Don

[metalfan]

I collected seeds from a beautiful 'hoffmannia' in Brazil. I have researched this beautiful leaf plant on the Internet. Seeds are germinating and I was wondering if anyone has experience growing it.

Mahalo. Don

I have one and its a lovely plant. Likes bright light. The leaves are so pretty.

[ariscott]

Whoa!!! It is a very NICE plant!! How big do they get?? Tree or shrub? It is almost nicer than Pentagonia...

Regards, Ari

[metalfan]

Whoa!!! It is a very NICE plant!! How big do they get?? Tree or shrub? It is almost nicer than Pentagonia...

Regards, Ari

Ari,

I am not sure how big they get. I haven;t found a whole lot of data on them. That one in the photo is about 3 ft tall and seems to like to keep a pretty solitary stalk, I keep waiting for side shoots or new growth from the base. The leaves are knockout in the right light.

[BS Man about Palms]

I keep thinking Trevor "Hoffmania"

[daxin]

In addition to the velvety top surface, the backside of the large leaves is deep burgundy. According to Luen, the owner of Monterey Bay Nursery, this plant can handle cool night temperature very well, and thus it should be a good low shrub for sheltered shady spots in SoCal. I am trying one myself but did not risk it outside last winter. It has stayed healthy and robust and is actively growing again.

[metalfan]

When you say 'cool' what do you mean numberwise?

[metalfan]

When you say 'cool' what do you mean numberwise?

I was working out in the greenhouse today and checked the base of my plant and low and behold I have new offshoots forming!! Woo Hoo!!!!!!

[daxin]

When you say 'cool' what do you mean numberwise?

It is "as long as it is not freezing", from 32F to 50F. Our soil temperature gets to that level during winter and that's a major roadblock for a lot of tropical/subtropical plants here in the Bay Area. Their roots do not know how to hibernate and just rot away even with the best draining soil outside.

[metalfan]

When you say 'cool' what do you mean numberwise?

It is "as long as it is not freezing", from 32F to 50F. Our soil temperature gets to that level during winter and that's a major roadblock for a lot of tropical/subtropical plants here in the Bay Area. Their roots do not know how to hibernate and just rot away even with the best draining soil outside.

Okay so I will keep it in the GH for now til I get another specimen propagated from it and then trial it outside. I have learned that NOTHING is immune from me trialing it outside, since I planted two White Taccas outside and they have made it now through two winters with several nights of subfreezing temps. This last winter, here in town, we had THIRTEEN straight nights of temps below freezing, most of those into the lower 20's and one night to an almost record 17F. The days after also were cold cold cold, many times it did not rise above 45F. This is extremely unusual for here, there were weather records broken to smithereens all over the place.

My white taccas not only made it through that gauntlet in hibernation, but now they are up and leafed out and getting bloom size again. They bloomed last summer after freezing into dormancy the (relatively mild) winter before. I figure if a Tacca can make it, many others can also.

[junglegalfla]

Nice!