PlantFiles: Rose Glory Bower, Cashmere Bouquet, Mexicali Rose, Mexican Hydrangea
Clerodendrum bungei

We have this plant that self started in our wooded area behind our home. It is taking over literally. VERY invasive.

My goats won't eat it. Wondering if anyone has suggestions to irradicate? Weedeater can't get it as it has woody stems.

The ONLY thing so far that works, is a swing blade. But for several acres, thats hard.

Does anyone know if cows would eat it? If deer won't touch it, and goats don't like it, it sounds like this plant will eventually join up with the Kudzu and wild wisteria back there, and take over the planet!! Help!

Pretty plant, but MUST be contained.

I"m in Jacksonville, Florida btw.

Help!

Lisa^^ and the disappearing woods, and goaties...... help, its coming for us........

I recently saw several of these plants in a friends yard. She had brought several of the plants back from Louisiana, and she dug me up a couple. I planted them both - one was very small and one was about 8 inches tall. The little one doesn't appear to have survived, except I can still see a little of the still-green stem - the leaves are gone. The larger plant looks terribly wilted, but is still green. This was almost two weeks ago, so I am encouraged by what has been written by others. This plant is truly beautiful and I am hopeful that it will survive.

Seems that there are some similar stories in the comments as my own. I first saw the plant as I was walking my dog through an alley in the neighborhood. I pulled up a small plant and though it struggled at first, it soon recovered and became a unintended show piece in the front garden. When there are several blooming at a time, be prepared for alot of inquiries from just about anyone walking past the garden.

The invasiveness of the plant still amazes me as I find sprouts past concrete barriers into my neighbors driveway. Even so, that means there are lots to share, and strangely enough so many people request them, they're gone just as fast as I pull them up.
Part sun, part shade seems to be ideal. Continuous blooms from April to July and they continue through autumn.

. These plants really look awful after transplanting, but always pull through after a couple of weeks. I put them in shade and keep them well watered after transplanting.

I love this plant for the foliage as much as the flowers. I agree with keeping the new plants dug, it tends to discourage the mother clump from sending out more runners. It's beauty if well worth the trouble, since I only have to to this twice a year.

Well I just added this hydrangea to my collection, I love the color of the leaves. Hope it does well this summer, it looks like we are going to have another dry one.

I transplanted a few of these plants from a friend's house in Tallahassee to my garden a few years ago. I brought them over bare root for the four hour transit. They were transplanted from Tallahassee's red clay soil to my NE Fla sandy soil. They had no problem surviving the trip nor the change in soil.

I've since had enough suckers from the plants to establish new colonies of the plants in several different locations in my garden. They seem to thrive both in sun and shade. I've noticed that if I am somewhat fastidious about digging up the suckers and transplanting them to new locations (or giving the small plants away), the parent plant seems to eventually stop sending out suckers. So far, this method has worked to control the spread of the plants and I am able to limit them to the backs of borders.

I plant three "Starburst" Clerodendrums seedlings in full sun 6 months ago. They are already 8 feet high with lots of beautiful clusters of red/white flowers that have been in bloom for several weeks now. The underside of the leaves are burgundy-colored. Early on, I started "limbing up" the branches so that they grow into trees. I am now letting some of the sprouts grow more bushy. The result is a "sculptured" look - very Japanese.

Very invasive. But beautiful in bloom. Very hardy in zone 10

San Antonio, Tx.
This is a beautiful plant, but spreads rapidly. I keep mine in a large container that does not touch the ground. My neighbor and I independently bought one each about the same time last year. I informed him to not plant it in the ground if he did not want it to take over the area. He planted his in the ground and the number of plants that have come up from runners is incredible. Mine is staying in the container where I am able to cut the runners from the mother plant, pot them and give small plants to friends, relatives and neighbors.

I first saw these near Natchitoches, La. I got my start a few months ago from my sister's house in Baton Rouge. Transplanted them in cold weather and they are doing fine. They are invasive, send out runners that come up everywhere. Mine are too young to do this, but I've seen them in action. I wanted them because they attract butterflies and will bloom for an extended period of time. I live in Jasper, Texas...about same latitude as Natchitoches so I know about how they SHOULD behave. Looked them up online and found them listed as Kashmir Bouquet also and Clerodendrum foetidum. They are native to China. I know they were brought to England in the late 1800s, but don't know their progression to the U.S. A friend gave me a climbing plant whose leaves look identical to the Cashmere Bouquet. She was trying to get rid of them. Anyone know if there is a climbing variety of Clerodendrum?

My grandparents had this growing in their yard forever. . . when the second of the two passed away, my mom and I dug up suckers (and trust me, they come by the billions) to replant for ourselves before we sold the house. Papa always called it "stinkbush", as the foliage smells like a big ol' multivitamin when brushed against (but I hear it's virtually animal proof--go figure) but the beautiful flowers smell just heavenly. . . I've heard it called 'cashmere bouquet'. I have mine in an old salvaged washtub of Papa's, and my mom has hers in the ground. Dies back in the winter, I actually feared mine was dead. . . comes back in spring. Mom now has 9 new suckers about 5 feet tall each, from a single original transplant, and she's already pulled out about 25 others in the last several months.

I admired this plant early this spring at a friend's yard and he promptly pulled, or rather ripped, six smaller plants out of the sandy ground and handed them to me. I was astonished, but he said not to worry--"you can't kill this plant." I took my six violated plants home and took all but the top most leaves off and then soaked the roots in a bucket of water for two days until I could get around to planting them. They went into a prepared raised bed with dappled sunlight, already well fertilized, and I mulched heavily with oak leaves. They looked terrible for about two weeks, and I even had to stake them, but I found my friend was right, and with twice daily watering for the first month or so all six plants survived and are now about three feet tall.

I have seen this plant growing here in Northcentral Florida in several yards, and it is a tall, graceful plant, almost looking like a standard, or even a very small tree, with intense dark green leaves and wine colored stems and leaf veins in the spring. In early summer it carries dusty blue-pink hydrangea like flower clusters that really attract butterflies. However, it does spread rapidly, sending out underground runners quite some distance out from the mother plant. It freezes to the ground here in Zone 8b, but resprouts in the spring.

I have heard this plant called various names including "glory bower" and "pink ball." Another friend identified it as a Dombeya, which does have a hybrid cultivar, I believe from South Africa or Madagascar, called "pink ball," but this is apparently another old Florida pass-along plant, like this Clerodendron.

This is a beautiful plant and easy to grow, but be prepared to dig up unwanted seedlings. I have six acres of "jungle" and am planning on using this plant as a tall background for flower beds near the house, and will let it spread backwards into the undergrowth where it can fight it out with the virginia creeper, trumpet vines and poison ivy. It will be interesting to see who will win.

Discovered this plant in the woods. Had a lot of trouble at first transplanting, but finally had success. Does best here in shade and spreads like crazy.

Deer won't touch them!!!!

It's done great here, tends to get away from you. Mine spreads like crazy by underground roots. New ones come up all the time from as far away as 6-8'. I don't do much to it at all. During the hottest days here in Florida the leaves will wilt in full sun. Very easy for me.

Grows quickly. Can be propagated by cuttings. Needs to be watered regularly (daily). Can be grown in zone 8.

This is a new plant in my garden so I have limited experience. My source donor said it was rampant in his yard, spreading all over. Literature lists foliage as foetid, tho I haven't noticed this. Mine is not doing well in the severe drought we are experiencing (Raleigh, NC July '02). Foliage has a reddish tint and stems are purple.