We have successfully grown this in our walled gardens in SE UK it is about 4 metres high and has definitely got a 'tree form'. It has hap...Read Morepily survived the last few bad winters, but the gardens are sheltered and we are very close to the coast which tends o mitigate our winter temperatures.
I transferred this plant from the north of France to the south. It struggled in the north ( Zone 5) but has gone bonkers in the south, Zo...Read Morene 9.5. Looses all it's leaves in the winter, is cut back hard but grows rapidly and flowers continuously from May to October. This year I plan to form it into a small tree as it has totally taken over the ground area, cramping out other near plants. Has anyone else tried to prune it into tree form??
This is a great plant. After a few years of growing it I have realized they bloom and grow best if kept on the dry side. If they are wate...Read Morered & fertilized too much during summer, they just keep growing and less blooms. I'm probably going to alter the soil where my current plant is with gravel. They are fairly easy to propagate from cuttings like a Brug.
Here in coastal NJ (Zone 7) we've been having some severe winter periods. I left Acnistus in the ground three winters in a row, never exp...Read Moreecting it to over-winter the first time. (I really have enough Brugmansias in tubs already.) Problem is that my Acnistus dies to the ground, restarts after other plants are already quite leafed out, gets a little straggly and then never has time to bud or bloom before frost. I've been considering putting it in a tub after all and overwintering it in either the garage (dormant) or back room (minimal growth), since it seems determined to grow for me. What season length does it seem to need to set buds? It never gets more than 1.5 feet tall.
(My seeds were from T&M, too.)
I bought a small plant from the nursey at Powys Castle inShropshire UK. It has small blue trumpet flowers in great abundance throughout t...Read Morehe summer but the leaves have a tendency to go yellow with spots and then drop off. Mine has never fruited. It can be a bit raggedy and the pruning should be done carefully as you may inhibit the flower growth.
I give this plant a "B" rating (I like this plant, but I can understand the "neutral" responses given by others). Here is a brief run-do...Read Morewn of the pluses and minuses I see.
Positives:
1) It is a fairly easy plant to grow (I keep it indoors in winters because I'm zone 5). I started it from seed in mid- to late- summer last year. It grew about a foot tall last year, then, this summer it went crazy into about a 3'x 3' shrub.
2) It is one of the few plants to produce truly blue flowers.
3) It flowers (starting indoors and moving outdoors after danger of frost) from mid-March until August, non-stop.
Negatives:
1) Flowers are relatively small and often hard to see for the heavy foliage.
2) Grows very long, irregular branches at very odd intervals. Needs pruning to maintain an attractive shape.
3) Seems prone to insects.
Overall, I would recommend this plant for someone who appreciates blue flowers and likes a plants with an extended blooming period.
I have grown this small 'tree like or shrub' plant from seeds. I maintain it like a small standard approximateky 2.5 m tall, with a head ...Read Moreabout 1m width and breath.
The plant is three years old and has been pruned back hard each spring to promote growth. It is planted in the raised border area on a covered patio area. I live in South Wales, UK, which is prone to frosts but favoured by costal milder weather by 1 or 2 degrees.
The plant is a blue flower variety and produces small plum shaped fruit, which I believe are poisonous and harvest away from my young family.
I like the plant for the abundance of flowers in the spring and the growth of the plant until mid summer. Disadvantages is that it has a tendency to drop leaves and the fruit are poisonous.
Deep South Coastal, TX (Zone 10a) | April 2003 | positive
I grew these plants from seeds. I was a bit disappointed the first year because the shrubs were leggy and not many flowers. This is their...Read More second year and they are loaded with blooms. Most I pruned as bushes but one white one I grew as a standard. I like them in the standard form, the flowers are right at eye level where one can enjoy their delicate shape. This shrub seems to enjoy hard pruning and flowers on new growth.
I started this plant from seeds in the spring of 2001. It flowered in the early spring of 2002 in a greenhouse. The flowers were white....Read More I have been somewhat disappointed in this plant - I expected something more flamboyant.
I have two Acnistus australis, each about 2 meters tall. In the San Francisco bay area they go dormant in winter. They take strong...Read More pruning well, with very vigorous growth in April/May, and into the summer. The habit is rather loose and rangy.
The flowers resemble a small version of a white Brugmansia (drooping, about 3 cm long, slightly recurved petals) blooming throughout the summer, and quite attractive to hummingbirds. The fruit is a greenish, maturing to purplish berry about 1 cm. in diameter. I have not tried to propagate seed, nor tried to root cuttings.
Macclesfield, CHESHIRE (Zone 8a) | August 2001 | neutral
Iochroma australe (formerly Acnistus australis) is not listed in the detailed volumes of the Royal Horticultural Soci...Read Moreety Dictionary of Gardening, my usual source for plant descriptions. When I enquired why, I obtained the following reply. "A. australis is a half-hardy shrub or small tree, related to Brugmansia. It has lilac blue pendant flowers produced in abundance throughout the summer months. A specimen has survived at the foot of a south-facing wall at Wisley (the RHS Gardens southwest of London) for several years. Last January it was cut to the ground by the cold weather, but is now re-growing strongly."
Some of my plants have produced a light pink flower which I assume it is the same variety.
We have successfully grown this in our walled gardens in SE UK it is about 4 metres high and has definitely got a 'tree form'. It has hap...Read More
I transferred this plant from the north of France to the south. It struggled in the north ( Zone 5) but has gone bonkers in the south, Zo...Read More
This is a great plant. After a few years of growing it I have realized they bloom and grow best if kept on the dry side. If they are wate...Read More
Here in coastal NJ (Zone 7) we've been having some severe winter periods. I left Acnistus in the ground three winters in a row, never exp...Read More
I bought a small plant from the nursey at Powys Castle inShropshire UK. It has small blue trumpet flowers in great abundance throughout t...Read More
I give this plant a "B" rating (I like this plant, but I can understand the "neutral" responses given by others). Here is a brief run-do...Read More
I have grown this small 'tree like or shrub' plant from seeds. I maintain it like a small standard approximateky 2.5 m tall, with a head ...Read More
I grew these plants from seeds. I was a bit disappointed the first year because the shrubs were leggy and not many flowers. This is their...Read More
I started this plant from seeds in the spring of 2001. It flowered in the early spring of 2002 in a greenhouse. The flowers were white....Read More
I have two Acnistus australis, each about 2 meters tall. In the San Francisco bay area they go dormant in winter. They take strong...Read More
Iochroma australe (formerly Acnistus australis) is not listed in the detailed volumes of the Royal Horticultural Soci...Read More, my usual source for plant descriptions. When I enquired why, I obtained the following reply. "A. australis is a half-hardy shrub or small tree, related to Brugmansia. It has lilac blue pendant flowers produced in abundance throughout the summer months. A specimen has survived at the foot of a south-facing wall at Wisley (the RHS Gardens southwest of London) for several years. Last January it was cut to the ground by the cold weather, but is now re-growing strongly."
Some of my plants have produced a light pink flower which I assume it is the same variety.