PlantFiles: Flaming Glory Bower, Pagoda Flower, Giant Salvia
Clerodendrum speciosissimum

My sister-in-law in Tangipahoa Parish Louisiana has been trying for many years to identify this plant growing in a flower garden at her home built pre-1860. She will be delighted when I report having found it on your website. It has proved itself to be hardy, bugfree and beautiful for as long as she can remember (we are in our late 60's). I do not know whether it would thrive here in Indiana where I live. Thanks for a great resourse.

Question: Anyone know what this plant's lifespan (how long does it live) in zone 10+??
Is it possible for it to bloom year-round in mild climates of zone 10+?

I bought 2 of these plants last Spring through the mail and it took some time for them to start growing leaves, but then they just flourished. They actually grew so fast I almost didn't have room for them. However, for no reason that I can think of, they just dropped all their leaves about the end of August. These are planted in part sun/shade and do receive some afternoon sun. They receive an average amount of water, but I can't figure out what happened. So I dug them back up, ammended the soil with more compost and built the beds higher. They started growing leaves again and then we received a very rare bout of freezes here in Houston, TX. They dropped their leaves again. I hope you are right when you say they will come back, but I still don't understand why they dropped their leaves for no reason??

Update: I ended up yanking my 2 plants because I couldn't figure out what was wrong with them. Not even 2 months later I had little seedlings everywhere. I babied a few of them and potted others. All plants looked sick so I yanked everything out. Too bad I couldn't get the same flourished look I had with the first season in the ground. It was beautiful but just didn't like it in my area.

Hmmm... all these pagoda flower lovers from Florida. Well, I bought this plant at a local nursery last year. Without knowing anything about it, I brought it home and planted it near my palm tree without any special care. It's in heaven here in Manhattan Beach! Earlier this year, I returned to the same nursery and bought another one. Here, few people are familiar with this lovely plant, but I love how it looks against my back wall near the palms. It actually gets partial sun, but seems to prefer that since it is planted against a south-facing wall. Caterpillars are a problem, so I spray regularly in summer. This winter, I plan on trimming it back a bit so that it will grow bushier next year. Don't know much about trimming it, so if anyone has advice, I would surely appreciate it.

Having first seen this plant growing at the Kanapaha Botanical Gardens here in Gainesville Florida (zone 8B). I new I had to it in my yard. The vivid red flowers are up to an inch in diameter with the protruding stamens and they last from late June through September. The flowers attract hummingbirds, butterflies and ants. I have some planted in full sun and other in more shady locations. In the winter I provide no additional protection. This past winter we had 2 nights with back to back nights of 21oF and this knocked them back to the ground. It is now the end of July and they are in full flower and over 5 feet tall. If you want a wow tropical splash of vivid color and large heart shaped leaves this plant is well worth a try at least in zone 8B.

This is such a great plant and truly reflects the "Old Florida" Landscape style. The plant thrives under adversity but is absloutely stunning when given even a small amount of TLC. It needs a good trimming once or twice a year in our area. It continues to bloom as long as the temps stay "warm". Cold temps in the thirties are not to it's liking but it only means that it will slow down it's flower production a bit. This is one of those plants often viewed with contempt because it has a running nature. You can't go wrong if you like blooming loads of color and a will to please! :-)

My two Pagoda Flower plants died back to the ground with temperatures as low as 28 F on a few nights this past winter, but both plants are now about 1 ft high and growing well. In my borderline Zone 8b/9a climate, they bloom late in the summer and continue blooming until the upper growth is destroyed by frost or freeze damage in December.

I just found out what my plant was called, and found out here on Dave's. I just love it. A great plant for shade/partial sun. It's colorful all year, and requires a minimum of care. It makes lots of seedlings as far as 10' away, but they pull out easily. Butterflies and bee's love it.

This plant was planted outside the herb garden at the Mobile Botanical Gardens some years ago. It has returned from the roots for three years. We had temperatures in the low 20's for a long time last year 2002-2003. It is in full sun and only grows to about 5 feet tall. It has not spread.

Invasive type, so plant in larger container. Grows very fast and prefers full sun. Flowers all year.

A large perennial shrub with big ovate leaves and a fast growth rate, this clerodendrum has spikes of brilliant orange-red flowers all season long. This plant loves warm and humid conditions. In cooler zones it will die back and re-emerge in the spring.
It makes an excellent container and house plant.