Hi, do you think I'm sexy?
Don't you wish you had a blooming flower that is hot like me in your garden in the midst of winter?
Family: Convolvulaceae
Botanical name: Ipomoea horsfalliae
Common name: Cardinal creeper, Prince Kuhio* vine, Horsfall's morning glory, Lady Doorly's morning glory
Origin / Native to : West Indies (Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, Guyana, Suriname), Venezuela, Brazil
* Named after Hawaii Prince Kuhio who grew it on his property in Waikiki. See what I mean? Even a prince wants to have her.
This vine blooms repeatedly in late fall to early or mid-winter. The flower buds resemble berries. (Please refer to the second picture). Flowers are a bright fuchsia (red/purple) colour and measures around 2-3 inches in diameter. It was the showy flowers that first attracted my attention. It was love at first sight! I think it looks like a symmetrical 10-sided decagon. I just love this shade of fuchsia.
This plant is attractive to bees, butterflies and/or birds.
Just look at the shiny, glossy, dark green foliage of this evergreen, perennial vine. The leaves have a rounded, wavy outline and palmate with 5 - 7 lobes.
This is how the whole plant look like from afar. It is a medium sized vine that can grow to 12 - 15 ft tall.
Growth requirements: Full sun to partial shade. Water regularly but do not overwater.
Propagation is by seeds or stem cuttings. It is a slow grower and may take 2-3 years to reach 8-10 ft. It can also be grown as a houseplant or container plant.
The kiss of death: The seeds and parts of the plant are poisonous if injested.
This post is dedicated to Mr Subjunctive of Plants Are The Strangest People (PATSP), the first commentor of my previous post, Wordless Wednesday - Purple Fountain Grass. I need to look up the dictionary to find out what 'subjunctive' means. I think the meaning is very deep. I really like the unique blog name of PATSP and I do agree with this statement that plants are indeed the strangest people. This I can relate to very well. I also enjoy reading this very fascinating blog.
Photos taken at The Secret Garden of 1-Utama
My grateful thanks to consultant botanist, Dr. Francis Ng. His blog link is at my sidebar.
References:
1. Daves garden
2. Gardino Nursery, Corp : Rare and Unusual Plants
3. USDA
This is my entry for the second Blooming Friday of 2010. My grateful thanks to Katarina at Roses and Stuff for hosting Blooming Friday. To see what others have posted or to participate, click here.
This is also my entry for Fertilizer Friday. My grateful thanks to Tootsie at Tootsie Time for hosting Fertilizer Friday. To see what others have posted or to participate, visit here.
This is also my entry for Today's Flowers #74. My grateful thanks to the TF folks: Santilli, Denise, Pupo and Valkyrien for hosting Today's Flowers. To participate or view other floral displays around the world, click here.
Post publication update: Andrea of Andrea in This Lifetime has posted pictures of the Ipomoea sp in her post "Wildflowers ... that's what we thought ... at first!" One of the picture is a yellow ipomoea, also has star shaped pattern in the flowers but it is a different species. Do have a look at those lovely flowers too.
