Iochroma Species, Tubeflower, Violet Churur

I reside on Albany Hill, a small community bordering El Cerrito and Berkeley. Over ten years ago I planted two 4" Iochroma plants at the...Read More southeast end of my property where the plants receive full sun and quite a bit of wind. The plants are presently 50' tall with a canopy spread of 10'.

I have not been providing regular Summer watering as the plants keep dropping yellow leaves and fully formed flowers. I have checked the plants for pests and the only thing that I have found is scale, which I remove with dental floss. There are no aphids, cucumber beetles, nor leaf hoppers. The plants are loaded with blooms and the new growth appears healthy.

Does anyone out there know why the leaves and flowers keep dropping? Is it the lack of water? Is it the wind exposure? Any help is welcome, thanks.

Iochroma seems to love the climate here in Southern California. Mine are in dappled sun, sheltered from summer sun by tall pines They're...Read More over 10' in the middle of winter and blooming! I should cut them back, but don't think cuttings would root in this cold.

They do need a fair amount of water and shelter from sun. Those big leaves are thin, and they are understory plants like their cousins, Brugmansias. They love heat, but not scorching direct sun.

We did have a monstrous bug infestation, with everything from aphids and mealybugs to some tiny tropical thing that looks like chunks of green leaves lined up on the stems, some critter right off Animal Planet. Cut everything back, drenched it in Safer soap and put Tanglefoot around the base to stop the ants. Haven't seen a bug there since.

My Iochromas bring me enormous pleasure and are some of the easiest plants I have in my garden, but they're probably in exactly the right place. This is citrus country, hot and dry with cold nights. Don't know why they like it, but they do. Gorgeous.

I cant seem to get this plant to grow well or to flower much in coastal sw florida zone 10B....dunno why? Is it the alkaline soil? The ...Read Moreintense sunlight? The bugs? The Nematodes? Lack of specific soil nutrients? .......anyways....I haven't given up yet! I will next try to fertilize the hell outta it and i also recently amended the soil from alkaline to acidic. My soil is now mostly peat and pine mulch (with only 20-25% native soil). Dunno what else i could do?? Except move it to either shader or sunnier location?? (Current location gets more then 6hours of full-sun per day.) If anyone has any suggestions or advise to better grow this potentially amazing plant...please let me know!!

Have been growing Iochroma cyaneum and the red type for a few years. Wonderful even with our hot, Tampa Bay nights! Blooms constantly all...Read More year long - requires pruning to shape. I keep mine 5' and under. Froze hard this winter (27F and below freezing 5 times) with a wet winter but returned nicely with the Brugs. Rooting can be tricky. I have great success in spaghnum moss (the orchid kind) mixed with small pieces of charcoal in a shady area. Roots best if you time it with the rains. Once rooted, off it goes. Feed constantly, and I use Rose Systemic a few times so bugs don't bother it!

I just had someone share some blue iochromia seeds with me and I need some help. Any help or information will be greatly appreciated on ...Read Morehow best to start seeds. They are VERY small so I realize they have to be handled with special care. Thanks in advance.

I have two Iochromas, both are over 6 feet tall and bloom most of the year here in South San Francisco, California. It is one of the l...Read Moreoveliest plants I have ever had in my garden. Birds love it, particularly hummingbirds. I have never noticed stickiness or thorns on it that someone else mentioned. Both plants are located in large rose gardens. Perhaps it is my imagination, but since these plants have reached maturity I have had very little problem with buggies on the roses and apple trees. However, our garden has been organic for 30 years and our soil is very well built up and strong so it could be that the overall health and balance of the garden is responsible.

I've had this growing in a pot in partial shade in my cold-winter climate for 1 1/2 months. It's in full bloom already, though it starte...Read Mored out from a very small pot. I have yet to try overwintering it inside, so I don't know how it will do then, but so far it's been blooming earlier and more prolifically than most tropical plants do here.

I live in the Tampa area and this plant is wonderful, It is a quick grower to about five feet in two years. I have nine of these plants...Read More and have seen no sticky leaves or thorns. They will take a light frost and bloom continuously from early spring to fall. They come is several different colors from light purple to deep red. One of them did get a few mealybugs but a quick spray and they haven't returned.

UPDATE - Last winter which was particularly hard on many plants, I lost my Iochroma. I checked to see if there was any green under the ba...Read Morerk but it was definitely dead. I even waited to see if new growth might show from the ground but nothing. Many people lost plants that they've had for many years . I lost some hebes, fuchsias & a few newly established small shrubs. We're in a La Nina phase when winters can be more severe) so I'd hazard a guess that Iochroma are barely border-line hardy for our area. Too bad. I plan to redo that part of the garden with more hardy plants now.
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I have to say I'm neutral about this shrub. I think it has it's good points & bad ones. The leaves are sticky - sort of like petunia - which I don't like, & as it gets bigger, there are sharp thorn-like projections from thicker branches. Still, I continue to grow it because it's an unusual plant & grows in my zone 7b-8a area. I have had it for 7 years now. It's against the west side of my house for added protection. Mine even set seed & ripened last year, but I'm not sure how viable the seeds are until I test them.

An unusual surprise cold snap in April appeared to kill it, but it came back from the ground level. It would look nice espaliered against the wall which I plan to do now as the growth can get quite rank.

I had hoped the blooms would be larger & more of them but perhaps it's to do with limited sun as the other house shades it too early in the day. I might move it for that reason. But I'm still happy with it & pleased that I'm growing a shrub that's not supposed to grow in my zone. I know there are other varieties of Iochroma that have larger & more attractive flowers & if anyone can find those, I'd highly recommend them.