PlantFiles: Preuss' Strophanthus
Strophanthus preussii

This plant does very well in Florida. It starts blooming in spring and continues until it gets cold. Flowers are smallish, about1.5 cm across, but the long tails and abundant blooms make it very nice plant.

This plant is extremely beautiful and has a graceful arching habit. I didn't not a scent.

It's very hard for me to grow since I don't have an accessable greenhouse. Providing the high humidity it craves is almost impossible so I usually have it confined to a large, clear, garbage bag.

I've brought it outdoors b/c we're having a humid summer so we'll see how it does.

Update: The summer is over and it's getting cold outside so it came back it.

It did VERY well outside. It dropped nearly all it leaves but put them back on much lusher.

I found out that it resents heavy fertilizer applications so I either diluted or used orchid fertilizer, depending what I was watering at the time.

I did use both bloom inducing forumulas but have yet to get it to flower. It was in bloom when I bought it three years ago.

Easily grown scandent shrub/climber. Has unusual and quietly attractive flowers which are discretely scented of ripe melons. The fragrance is not overpowering but spreads throughout the greenhouse.
Comes from Central Africa where apparently the wood was used in the making of bows and the sap as a constituent of poison used on arrow tips.