Tibouchina

[Daryl]

I have a Tibouchina lepidota growing in my garden, and it is a great performer...flowering for a lot of the year.

There are several other species and cultivars available locally.

Does anybody else here have this growing?

regards,

Daryl

[_Keith]

I do, but your makes me sad to admit it.  Here they freeze to the ground most years and return from the roots.    Certainly they do not have the grandeur you have in that picture.  By the end of each season they will be about 4 feet tall, maybe 5 or 6 with a light preceding winter.

That tree of yours is truly beautiful.  I suspect it represents "grown to perfection."

[_Keith]

Actually, as I look back at the picture in your posts, every single one of those plants in that garden looks "grown to perfection."  What an awesome bed.

[DoomsDave]

Oh no!

The Tibuchina from Hell!

It wanted to marry me.

I said no, no licensce ((spelling??) would be given, but well,

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO,

So, out comes the Brush-B-Gon and the purple flowers disappear . ..

[Jason Baker Portugal]

Sorry I wanted to post a pic of T. mutablils but it was just a little too big. I have 2 purple tib´s being one a tree and the other a 1m tall shrub. The mutabilis is a tree as well and is the prettiest of all I have seen. I had a burgandy flowering one as well but it carked a couple of years ago. Jason

[ariscott]

After seeing your tree in person, Daryl... I am tempted to try one!! Apparently it is too hot up here, but you won't know until you try... I am a sucker for everything blue/purple....

Regards, Ari

[fastfeat]

Ari--

You might try T. granulosa. It does well here in Florida heat (probably not as hot as you are though...), but it doesn't like alkaline soil.

[Jerry@TreeZoo]

daryl, nice garden!

The two (or three) that work well here in South Florida are T. granulosa and T. grandifolia/heteromala.  The granulosa is a small tree similar in size to your lepidota, but your color is strikingly darker and not seen around here.  Plus, as Ken says, they don't like alkaline soil, so they only perform well in isolated acid soil pockets (either you have the right soil or you don't).

The grandifolia/heteromala (there is confusion if this is one species or two) is a large shrub that does faily well in our lousy soil.

Jerry

[amazondk]

Daryl,

The species you have is grown alot in the cities of southern Brazil.  It is even used as a street tree in some areas.  Tibouchinas are a pioneer species and in locations around Sao Paulo have been seeded by air to help regenerate the native forest.  When you fly out of Sao Paulo during certain times of the year the blooming tibouchinas on the hills and mountains make a great sight.

dk

[fastfeat]

Daryl--

Very beautiful garden indeed.

Question--is the slender tree behind the Tibouchina a Castanospemum australe or Rhodosphaera rhodanthema?

[LJG]

(Jerry@TreeZoo @ Mar. 22 2008,06:09)

QUOTE

 The granulosa is a small tree similar in size to your lepidota, but your color is strikingly darker and not seen around here.  

Or here.

It seems to be an Aussie tree. We have a few other species, but they never maintain a real bush tree look. They tend to get leggy even with a lot of pruning.

Daryl, how much times goes into maintenance on that tree?

[Daryl]

(keiththibodeaux @ Mar. 22 2008,11:02)

QUOTE

Actually, as I look back at the picture in your posts, every single one of those plants in that garden looks "grown to perfection."  What an awesome bed.

Thanks Keith, although actually the plants are still looking below their best as they are recovering from last winter's record cold. There is still a lot of leaf burn visible...a few more months before the old leaves are totally shed!

I do try to keep all of my plants healthy though, even when the weather doesn't co-operate!

Jerry, T.granulosa is popular here too. There is a cultivar called 'Kathleen; which has pink flowers and grows a bit larger than T.lepidota. We also have those dwarf shrub forms.

Ken, the tree you are referring to is one of our local rainforest trees called Diplogottis cunninghamiana. It is a really attractive tree for the garden and complements palms really well. The leaves are pinnate, and for scale, each leaflet in the photo is about 12" long.

Don, it must be quite a sight to see a hillside covered in purple!

Len,

I cut out the old dead  twigs about once a year, which takes about an hour, so not too much work! This is an Aussie cultivar of T.lepidota called 'Alstonville' and it is smaller than the true species.

This tree is almost 5 years old now.

regards,

Daryl

[mppalms]

Daryl, fantastic photo.  Your yard is a paradise, despite the unusually-cold weather.

Does anyone know a U.S. source for Tibouchina lepidota or mutabilis?  I'm having good luck with various Tibouchinas thus far, but I can't seem to find these.  Thanks.

Jason

[ariscott]

If they grow for Don.... I might have a chance then.

Ken, I am not big for shrubs. I like Daryl's Tibouchina because it is a small tree. All my shrubs have to have fragrance.

Daryl,

I can't find any information about Diplogottis cunninghamiana. We have them growing in the median strip on Stuart Highway and Scott has been wondering what they were. They look exactly like your tree. Are they native to NQ or SEQ?

Regards, Ari

[Peter]

Love that Diploglottis.  I tried D. berniana in South Florida but lost the tree; I'm not sure whether it was neglect or it didn't like the soil-anyone growing that one?

[amazondk]

Ari,

I don't see them around here.  They grow down south.  We have several species in the native vegetation though.  But, the don't have very colorful flowers.

dk

[DoomsDave]

Sorry for my initial bout of hysteria, but, you've got to give it some room.

Or it will make the room.

Or force you.

Ahem.

It air-layers from low branches into your mulch.  You start with one agressive plant, and you end up with six, eight or more, oh dear, a panic attack comes.

Be careful, mates . . . .

dave

[ariscott]

(amazondk @ Mar. 22 2008,21:03)

QUOTE

Ari,

I don't see them around here.  They grow down south.  We have several species in the native vegetation though.  But, the don't have very colorful flowers.

dk

Mis-read your post . Oh well... just have to be happy with other blue/purple stuff I have.

Regards, Ari

[Gbarce]

I don't but now I want to!!

[Daryl]

(Dave from So-Cal @ Mar. 23 2008,11:33)

QUOTE

Sorry for my initial bout of hysteria, but, you've got to give it some room.

Or it will make the room.

Or force you.

Ahem.

It air-layers from low branches into your mulch.  You start with one agressive plant, and you end up with six, eight or more, oh dear, a panic attack comes.

Be careful, mates . . . .

dave

Dave, this particular cultivar is not aggressive at all. It is a perfectly behaved garden plant in these parts!

Daryl

[Walter John]

There's an old woman's tale of having and looking at plants with purple flowers like Tibouchinas. Or was it an old man's tale, either way I've forgotten what it is. There's only one problem with Daryl's fab garden, it's too close to New South Wales   .

[ariscott]

Well... if my Jacaranda caerulea and/or caucana can flower here in Darwin... I will be a happy gardener!!

Regards, Ari

[Eric in Orlando]

w are growing several species here. They grow well in our climate and with the acidic soil.

T. clavata (syn. T. elegans)

T. granulosa

T. granulosa 'Kathleen' (a pink form)

[Eric in Orlando]

T. heteromalla (the form often sold in FL as T. grandifolia/T. grandiflora)

T. heteromalla (the other form)

T. lepidota 'Ecuador Princess' (a dwarf cultivar)

Melastoma sanguinea