Mussaenda musings by Jon Roethling
As I believe many people have figured out, I am a plant nut to the fullest extent. I get no greater pleasure than introducing people to new plants, especially ones that I happen to find interesting. Hearing “what is that?� is simply music to my ears. One group of plants that I have delighted in bringing to Reynolda is that of the genus Mussaenda and its kin. Belonging to the RUBIACEAE, Mussaenda shares familial ties with the likes of our native buttonbush (Cephalanthus), Cape jasmine (Gardenia) and coffee (Coffea) to name a few. Hailing from the tropical regions of Africa and Asia, they are strictly tender plants for our region but well worth inclusion in our summer gardens. Much like our native dogwood, the show really comes from the petaloid sepals (modified leaves) rather than the actual flowers. Ranging in color from white to pink to coral to red, the bracts persist for a long period of time, much longer than the actual flowers. Care during the summer primarily involves providing plenty of sun and fertilizer as they are heavy feeders. The tricky part comes toward the end of the season. Our early dips into the mid-40s in September revealed several of our taxa did not appreciate the cooler temps and they promptly dropped their leaves in disgust. We dug the plants and brought them into the greenhouse where they tend to prefer being a bit on the dry side and not venturing below 50 degrees. Despite there being close to 100 species, we typically only have a few present in cultivation as well as some wonderful hybrids. Currently we have 7-8 taxa in the collections here at Reynolda. We do plan to have a handful available at the Spring Plant Sale but they may be in short supply.
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