Wow, is that a cool plant. Very unusual and beautiful blossoms.

That has a beautiful bloom, Karyn! Can't wait to see when the buds open up on your new acquisition :-)

I'm hoping that the first bud will open in about a week. I have trouble keeping them going over the winter. This variety of medinilla is especially cold sensitive but also requires high humidity so I can't keep it in the house.

Those flowers are extraordinary - where does the plant come from Karyn?
Diane

Wow Karyn- this one is so beautiful! I just love everything about it- nice leaves and fantastic flowers. It's rightfully named! Lucky you!

Karyn, I had 2 of these, in 3-gallon pots, about 2 years ago. They did fine for the season, but as soon as temps dropped into the low 50's, they slowly died. Good luck with yours!

I think most varieties originate in the Phillipines. Lynette I thought yours was doing well. I lose mine every winter. If it was possible to keep the soil dry maybe the chill wouldn't rot it but this plant is a double whammy and needs high heat and high moisture. I hadn't planed on trying them again but since I don't have to pay for it why not?

A friend has a M. myriantha which I've also grown. It's similar and slightly more hardy but still PITA. Since it's a higher altitude plant you can find info online that says it can withstand cold. It can't. Even Sid who wrote that it's supposed to be able to withstand some cold temps says in reality that it can't. He has several varieties at his nursery in DelRay and has to move them during a cold snap. Medinillas thrive in 85 degree temps with 100% humidity. Mine have even begun stressing at about 55. I certainly can't see one surviving at temps of 40, much less any lower, for any amount of time.

What a beautiful plant Karyn. Love the flowers and the leaves too.

these plants are never AWOL in our local nurseries, but even with that said, i've never gotten a single one. (maybe, i'd get one afterwards)
they come in different colors and varieties. they yield flowers profusely and i haven't seen one without blooms year round.
i live in thee philippines and it's indeed so humid and hot in here. during the monsoon season these plants gets a lot of water.

I was just looking at one of these on ebay the other day. Looks cool. Congrats.

I just stashed my M. magnifica in the GH for the winter. It's been in bloom most of the summer and still has couple more unopened buds but I've had problems keeping this variety alive over the winter and was considering just leaving it outside to save space. If it starts to decline it's going in the compost pile.
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Karyn- I just took in my Golden Chalice plant that you gave me a a cutting. It grew nicely this summer, to 2 feet, but didn't bloom. How large does it get before it blooms? Can I store it in a cool basement if it's kept a little dry? Our cottage is so small.. Thanks!

Kathy it's a winter bloomer. Mine usually doesn't begin blooming until late Nov and goes thru the winter. Just keep it in the greenhouse and you should have flowers soon. Don't trim it back because the flowers are born on the new growth. That's my problem with it. It gets huge and I need to cut it to just get it in the GH but I leave as many stems as possible so I have some blooms.

Karyn, did your Medinilla make it through the winter? I love them and have bookmarked many photos of them - I know they grow beautifully in South Florida and Hawaii - but I haven't bought one yet. Even here in Jacksonville they want something like $15 for a 3" pot. The blooms are gorgeous though!

Here is a link that might be useful: Medinilla in Tampa

I found 3 gal size medinillas at a walmart in Orange Park, FL several years ago for around 12.99. So they are around....I think kartz greenhouse has them sometimes (online)
I still have mine. It is really hard to root, pretty much impossible and I can root anything lol. I have an orange flowered/bract one as well I got in Mandarin and it roots very easily.
These are old pics, I haven't taken any lately, been way too busy lol.
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~SJN