Solandra Species, Cup of Gold Vine, Golden Chalice Vine, Hawaiian Lily, Yellow Chalice Vine

Morocco coastal site, (Atlantic, north of Agadir) never freezes, dry and windy. Bought this plant thinking it was a datura, but saw the a...Read Moremazing flowers were something different. It grew well as a bush for the first two years, flowering regularly, but one at a time. Then it started to climb up between bougainvilleas and rampant scented geranium (7 foot high in this sheltered corner) and this year didnt flower at all. I am going to leave it be and try again in a new walled garden. It doesnt exactly twine/vine, more just sends out long branches. I wondered if it would behave more like a bush if pruned back. My soil is terrible, and very chalky, even tho I improve when I plant and add rotted manure, so I was very pleased that this exotic plant did so well, with its rich green glossy leaves. I find the flower to be unscented, and a bit out of proportion among the other small flowered plants, but hope it will shine more in the new larger garden. Btw I just saw it flowering (butnot twining) in a fertile sheltered oasis garden at Taroudant, well south of me (sorry I dont know tthe Zones used here).

I planted my solandra maxima in 2014, it is tethered to a metal chain fence and in a fairly exposed spot but it seems to be coping well w...Read Moreith strong winds and very hot summers. I had to plant it in a very big terracotta pot because our garden is all rock and little drainage but it seem to be thriving except that this year there is some leaf shedding, however I think that might be because in a pot it needs regular feeding and I might have to up the watering too.

I live in the Central valley in Ca.zone 9. Does anyone know if this vine will bloom in a pot? This up coming summer will be my 3rd year i...Read Moren a pot. Looks very healthy and is about 3x3 ft.but hasn't bloomed yet.

Keep pruned, agreed it causes irritation on skin from oil produced if branches break. Our plants have given 5 fruits this year. I will no...Read Moret eat or ingest this as it is poison if any plant is in the nightshade family they can kill in concentrated amounts. Think of it as cyanide. Simple stay alive and do not eat it.

I love this plant! I had the green, and still have the variegated one. The green leaf variety has small blooms, while the variegated one ...Read Morehas 6-8 inch flowers. They smell like pina colada. Super easy to root. Very easy to grow. Also very expensive.

I am located in Perth, Western Australia which has a Mediterranean climate of cool wet winters and hot dry summers. The vine is trained ...Read Moreover a large pergola measuring 4 metres wide x 10 metres long at the rear of my house and is at least 40 years old. Perfect shade in summer except for one bad habit which I wonder if anyone else has experienced and perhaps has a remedy. After the first period of really hot weather (40 deg Celsius or above) the leaves drop over a period of 2 weeks and then after a month the leaves regrow. Not too bad if the hot weather is unusual very early in late Spring but a bit of a disappointment if mid summer when you need the shade most.

Really beautiful plant. It grows very fast and does well in pots, at least for a while. Mine did very well in Summer 2010, but barely gre...Read Morew at all this past summer (2011). Im putting it in a huge pot so it has a chance at some good growth. Might cut it back also.
Mine bloomed once indoors , but all I got to see was the dried up flower on the floor. I was very sad, but happy at the same time. At least it bloomed, still wish I got to see it!
Dont grow it for just blooms though because the foliage is beautiful also. People always want to know what this plant is when they see it. And its very easy to start from cuttings, just put a stem in water, wait until you start to see a little root growth, put root tone on the growth, and pot it up for a month or 2 until the roots are mature.

Unfortunately, it always flowers in the winter here and blooming is usually disturbed by light frosts. In the Greek islands (zone 10b) th...Read Moreings are much better, because it flowers without problems, especially in positions sheltered from the winds.
As a potted plant it doesn't flower well, it only flowers profusely if sown in the ground, where it becomes enormous.

According to the literature I have read, Solandra is a member of the Nightshade family and ALL PARTS OF IT ARE POISONOUS if ingested. Pl...Read Moreease do not put it in a glass with ice cream or any other food! What is that lady thinking?? Please stop her!

My neighbor here is SW Florida grows this. His has multiple ruffly yellow petals, not simple ones like in the photos. It is blooming profusely in August- our rainy season. He is up north for the summer and does not get to see it.

He said someone gave it to him and he does not even know what it is. I will tell him all about it when he gets back.

I live in the hot Central Valley in CA, where mid to high 90s and sometimes over 100F on the average are the norm for summers.
...Read More /> I find that mine tends to stick to the shade under the edge of my plant shade house, covered with white 50% sun reducing polycarbonate sheeting. It could grow out into full sun, but prefers to grow under the polycarbonate.

It has handled the winters here ok, under the polycarbonate sheeting, even with lows down to 28F, preceded with 8 to 8 plus hours below 32F Though this winter, which was milder over all, we had one arctic low in December of 25F, with 8 plus hours below 32F. Well it froze to the ground, it is slowly coming back from the ground. All of the above vine died, except for a small portion of large vine the furtherest under the polycarbonate, growing nearest my home, and no too close to the polycarbonate.

A bit disappointing, it had just begin to bloom well the season before. I had a 5 gallon potted plant, under the polycarbonate roof, and it got more airflow and died to the ground as well, even though near the house. It started to grow from below ground, but now is dieing.

This vine can be used on a frame to make a shaded area, but is sensitive to wind burn. It also needs to be controled or it will become very rampant.

This is my favorite vine. It grows really fast in spring/summer! Almost like it grows 1 foot over night. I love it alot, i fertalize it a...Read More lot, and it stays nice and healthy. Nice big scented flowers from around fall-spring for me. Does get some frost damage at 32Degrees, But just seems to affect the leaves and not the vine itself.. Nice conversation piece, likes to be moist, but not wet wet..

I love this plant!!!! I live in an area where it gets about 32 degrees at night, and its made it through the winter.. It had a little bur...Read Morening of the leaves, but it picked right up the past few months... It grows very very very fast!!! And the blooms are to die for... I have it on a south facing wall, next to my Clematis vine, they both look very good together!!! Haven't had any pest problems... Easy to grow from cuttings, just let it sit in water for a week, when you see white crystals, then its time to pot up!!! It responds well to the Miracle Gro - Bloom Booster.. Start off fertilizing with that before Christmas, (Almost everytime you water use that!) then keep it going until about May! After that i just do the regular Miracle Gro about every other time i water it.. You will be stunned by the bigger blossoms, and the darker leaves!!! Love it, and everyone should own one! They are kinda high in price, but well worth it.. It does have a scent, but i don't really care for it!!!

I have always liked the looks of this plant/vine and have noticed quite a few growing in our area.

I haven't tried this ...Read Moreyet, but a friend told me she likes to cut perfect blossoms, sit them in a wine glass (after taking out the pistiles) and fill with vanilla ice cream to serve to guests. She claims the ice cream is then slightly perfumed with the scent of the blossom.
Someday I might try it.

After four years of our S. nitida (from a cutting) rambling over a south-facing wall - and just as we had given up all hopes of it ever f...Read Morelowering - a single bud opened to the sun this morning!

In late-summer through winter this vigorous vine produces 7-inch wide, trumpet shaped flowers of golden yellow. Each flower is marked ins...Read Moreide with dark purple ridges. These large tropical vines can be maintained at 4-5 feet in a container with heavy pruning. In tropical zones they become massive mounds of foliage and can even take down small trees. Vines are heavy and will need to be trained and tied to a sturdy support. Prune Solandra after flowering to maintain shape and form. Buds form on growing tips so don't prune again or you'll risk disrupting the flowering cycle. Solandras are heavy feeders and should be fertilzed every 2 weeks with high phosphate fertilizer through the growing season.