Petraeovitex bambusetorum, Petraeovitex wolfei
Family: Lamiaceae
Nong Nooch Vine
Origin: Thailand
vine or creeper, full sun, regular water, yellow/orange flowers,
attracts butterflies, hummingbirds, ultra tropical, min. temp. 55F
This amazing climber brings ease of culture, vigorous growth and
stunning floral form to the container gardener. Flowering from
spring through fall, the blooms form on the tips of its vining stems
and pendulate down 2' or more in length. Soft yellow bracts and
creamy white flowers form a pendulous infloresence that opens over
many weeks. Train it on a trellis or a fence.
Sometimes placed in Verbenaceae family.
This stunning climber is so rare in cultivation that one can
hardly find enough information about it in existing sources. If you
have ever visited Thailand, you may have seen this vine in Thai
gardens or Chatuchak plant market in Bangkok. Comon name Nong Nooch
Vine comes from the world famous botanical garden Nong Nooch in
Pattaya, Thailand.
Flowering from spring through fall, the inflorescence opens over
many weeks, the blooms form on the tips of its vining stems and
pendulate down with soft yellow bracts and creamy white flowers.
For a long time, this plant was placed in Verbenacea family.
Truely, the flowers, leaves, and growth habit is so similar to
clerodendrums! Just compare it to a garden favorite Bleeding Heart (Clerodendrum
thomsoniae). However, according to Dr. John Mood, Verbanaceae and
Lamiaceae were always problem families due to morphological
overlapping. With DNA, it can be concluded that the difficulties
were real and that many genera placed in Verbenaceae should have
been in Lamiaceae.
Nong Nooch vine it much more suitable for container culture than
some clerodendrums. The vine brings ease of culture, vigorous growth
and stunning floral form to the container gardener. Although
tropical vines are not something that anyone can grow, due to space
issues, this is one that will bloom if kept trained to a hoop or a
trellis. During warm season, it's pretty fast growing, but has much
more delicate growth habit than clerodenrum vines. If grown on a
trellis or a fence in warm climates, Nong Nooch Vine can also create
a nice privacy with its attractive, dense dark green foliage.
In a greenhouse, you will be very much pleased with it, trainning
it on a pole or in a large hanging basket. The only requirement -
leave enough room for the blossom stems to hang, since they can hang
as long as 2-4 ft down.
This rare and hard-to-find plant is easy to cultivate. Just
create a frost-free environment, and enjoy the cascades of gold! |
