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Hello! I have had this beautiful plant for 5 years, receiving it as a gift. I love it! it is very lovely and grows/spreads out with tender vines. it blooms every few months, and is SUPER sensitive to the sunslight. What is it? it reminds me of a chinese lantern. Any ideas?
BAD NEWS is, it now has a disease. i thought it had died and trimmed it back vigorously last fall. it began blooming, but the leaves still curl up and also lose their pigment and die off. this has been going on since last fall. any ideas? i dont want to lose this beauty! thank you ahead of time! the pics of the leaves are on another thread...
I have seen this lovely plant many times as an indoor plant here but cant give the name I'm afraid, as for the leaf trouble you are having, you dont say if this is also an indoor plant for you too, if it is, then look closely at your plant for red spider mite, this tiny little mite causes the death of so many plants. they are so small you wont even know you have it till the problem has got a real hold and the leaves are dropping like flies, the first sign is very, very fine webs from the top of the foliage, when it gets hold, you can really see the webs, most folks need a magnifying glass to see the actual spiders, they are not red at all until the females are mature enough to breed, by this time you have millions of the spiders, constant misting helps a bit, it wont kill the mites, but they dont breed in damp humid conditions, so you need a spray specially for the red spider mite, and spray every week or few days if you need to, you also need to spray all your other plants that are within the room or next to outside, if the plant is indoors, then these mites hibernate in the crevices and cracks of walls, pots and floors where it is warm enough to keep them alive. I am not saying this is what you have, but I'd bet some money that it's the problem, so really search hard for them especially under the leaves/foliage. By the way, these mites dont go anywhere near people, they have to live on foliage ONLY, but you can transfer them from plant to plant by unwittingly brushing clothes on the plants as you move from plant to plant when watering, so be careful. Good luck. Weenel.
I saw a picture of this a while ago and had never heard of it either. I was tempted to buy one, and bring it indoors in winter.
Do you think it would grow in zone 5 if treated as an annual and brought indoors?
i do, mine has lasted 5 years, and was in upper michigan for years before that. but you have more dryness out west, so it has to be kept moist, and likes a little sun. good luck!
They grow fine here outdoors so I don't think lack of humidity will be too much of a problem, but our summer temps don't get as warm as UT so I'm not sure what effect that might have. And lots of people bring them in for the winter so that part ought to be OK as well.
