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Northwestern Gardening

giant 'tree lobelia' Lobelia gibberoa

18 years ago

Hi,

Anyone growing this tree lobelia from Africa?

Sounds like at least a container plant for the summer.

Any growing experiences welcome.

Thanks!!!

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Comments (5)

ian_wa
18 years ago
I tried it once. It grew quickly and easily, but was susceptible to spider mites, and roasted at the lightest frost. I think some of the other African Lobelia, Senecio and Dendrosenecio species grow at higher altitudes and in drier areas than L. gibberoa. The challenge of course is to figure out where to get one.
goted
Original Author
18 years ago
Thanks Ian!

A pity those higher altitude ones are so hard to find.

Have you ever tried some of the lobelias from Hawaii?
I know they would be tropical too, but sometimes frost tolerance is surprising.
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Embothrium
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"...it should be remembered that species from tropical latitudes which experience cold conditions usually do so on a daily basis, whereas those from colder latitudes do so on a seasonal basis. This means that they do not experience very cold soil temperatures or long periods of dormancy induced by months of cold."
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18 years ago
Yeah but in this case, since they will probably all croak below about 25F regardless of the duration, it doesn't really make a difference! Also, I know someone on the Oregon coast who has kept L. keniensis outdoors for many years, though it does not really thrive.
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Goldbeach southward is ecologically California. Even Coos Bay is different enough from here to have treelike corylines.

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