I am in Maple Ridge and have been growing a Lapageria Rosea (Chilean Bell flower) for a few years now. It keeps challenging me. I am not sure if there are any other plants in Canada. Whomever I talk to has given up. I "killed" a few plants myself but will not give up. The plant is about 6 years old, blooming nicely but keeps showing signs of stress hence this post. Perhaps some of you have experience with this plant or the general symptoms it's showing and could help me. I have the plant in a large, deep (15gal) non-glazed pot with acidic soil mixture and good drainage. In the summer its outside in full shade, in the winter indoors. Last spring I had a nasty surprise when I realized that the PH value of the soil in the pot was 8.5 instead of the 5.5 when I started. I learned that his was due to the fact that my well water has a PH value of 9 (!) which I did not know before. I almost lost the plant. But the leaves are still not healthy looking and I don't know why. It starts with yellowing at the edges, getting progressively worse and then drying up starting from tip. This happens over a period of 3 to 5 months. Yet it keeps blooming nicely. I found that the Lapageria tells you about 5 months later if she did not like something! I would appreciate any feedback of what the reason for my unhealthy leaves could be. Thank you Andres
Such an interesting plant. Thanks for posting it! The video at Lapageria - growing and propagating guide (youtube.com) says they're scruffy plants and you have to put up with it. I'm surprised how different the leaves look in different posted photos (and in the video). Some look like yours, with veins running from base to tip; others have a single mid-rib and no other prominent veins; there is one with secondary veins all off the midrib. But there is supposed to be only one species, with several cultivars.
Yes, that's one where I thought the leaves looked different. There are so many differences in the leaves in the photos, with flowers that look the same.
Thank you for the links. I was aware of them and there are so many more. A lot of them from the UK. Along the coast of Cornwall it's mild enough for them to over winter. They brought the plants over there around 1860 so some are well established. Now it's illegal to take them out of Chile so we'd better take care of what we have. I get most of my information from Australia or Chile. Yes, there are quite a few different leaves, yet the plants I have seen in Chile have leaves generally identical to what you see on my posting. What bothers me a bit is that my leaves that undergo that deterioration get limp, something I cannot detect on various videos showing damaged leaves and may be indicative of something else that is going on. I agree with the statements on almost every link; it is a very difficult plant to grow and I guess I should be happy that mine is still alive, is and keeps blooming so nicely. It really teaches you PATIENCE. I will be trying soon to grow some new, white ones. If am lucky, they may bloom in 2029! I started this adventure in 2009.
