Plant Sales Live on JuliaRedman.com

Monday, June 23, 2008

In Bloom: Ceropegia sandersoniae

My Ceropegia sandersoniae, a.k.a. "parachute flower", was given to me by ogecko as a rooted cutting of his plant approximately 8 months ago. Since then it has twined around several bamboo stakes in the pot and generally looked rather dopey. The vines are almost pencil thick but the leaves are about the size of a quarter or perhaps a little bigger and are not very abundant. But thats ok because now it is blooming for the first time and the flowers are really neat! From calyx to tip the flowers are an estimated 2.5 inches tall and 2 inches in diameter at the top of the parachute. The little hairs flutter slightly in the breeze, undoubtedly to help attract little bugs for pollination assistance.

I can't say I know much (anything) about ceropegias. I've been growing this one in an East exposure sun room, but I understand they can take more light than that. During the winter I didn't water much but have increased watering for summer. Later today I'll be dissecting a flower to see if I can determine how to pollinate them...

In the mean time, you can learn more about ceropegias here and here.

1 comment:

swamprad said...

That's a new one on me! Very cool...