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Iochroma cyaneum |
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| Common name |
blue trumpet flower |
| Family |
solanaceae |
| Life cycle |
shrub (Z9-11)   |
| Flowers |
violet (throughout warm season) |
| Size |
12' |
| Light |
part shade |
Fast-growing brugmansia relative featuring clusters of bright violet pendent trumpet-shaped flowers, which are produced freely whenever the plant is in active growth – which could be year-round in tropical climates. Here in Houston, it should survive mild winters. It prefers part shade and regular moisture, and benefits from frequent pruning, which keeps it tidy and promotes flowering. If left unpruned in sufficiently warm regions, it will grow into a multi-trunked small tree. Attracts hummingbirds. The 'Princess' variety we grow is actually a hybrid between I. cyaneum and I. australis, reportedly fast-growing to 10 ft tall. For now, it's a somewhat gangly specimen – we'll be watching its progress through the next year, assuming it survives winter.
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| We purchased our plant in November 2017, which is when the flowering photos above were taken. In the following two years, it grew to well above our fence level, in good growing conditions (mostly sunny, but sheltered), with lots of leafy branches from a semi-woody trunk – not much bothered by either of recent mild winters, but stubbornly refusing to bloom. If it doesn't shape up this year, out it goes, because as a foliage plant it's not much to write home about.
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| | Finally, in late June of 2020, some long-awaited flowers arrive, earning Io a stay of execution |
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| | By the winter of 2021, our specimen had grown into a small tree, only to be felled by a strong freeze. A month later, it started to regrow from its base. |
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| | Blooming nicely on Christmas day, 2021 |
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In our garden, this plant grows in the following area: back fence border About my plant portraits
PlantLinks to other web pages about Iochroma cyaneum
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