Anyone grow Combretums?

F

Fouquieria

Active Member
15
12/04/08
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38
Spring Valley CA
Years ago someone gave me a little Combretum grandiflorum. When I would move I'd drag it around with me (this is when I was a renter) and finally decided after looking at the pathetic little thing to plant it on the barren north side of the house I was in at the time. Well, it went nuts and by the end of that summer it had started to bloom. It was huge and spectacular. The leaves were big and glossy and the little red flowers grew on these huge, flattened out umbels. Anyway, I tried to dig it up when I moved but it didn't survive the trip.

Even since then I've gotten a couple of plants listed as C. grandiflorum but they always turned out to be Combretum coccineum. It's a nice vine but not nearly as grand. Since then I've always had an attraction to these shrubby vines. I got two little seedlings of C. fruticosum two years ago. I planted one out last Spring and it is doing fine. Today I'm digging a hole to plant out the other one. I also got a larger pot of Combretum microphyllum, which I planted out a couple of weeks ago. About three years ago I got a Combretum aubletii, but it didn't survive the winter in it's pot on the balcony.

Does anyone else out there grow these plants? What has been your experience?

-Ron-
 
Hey Ron,

It's nice to have you contributing.

I never heard of that vine, so I went looking on the web for a pic to see if I had ever seen it. Here is a pic courtesy of the Kyoto Prefecture Web Site. I would like to hear more about it.

I hope everyone knows you can click on the thumbnail (if registered) to view a larger pic.
 

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Peter, I planted one about 5-6 years ago by the fence near the fountain. It was in the shade and didn't survive the winter. Two years ago I planted another one down on some rocks where it gets full afternoon sun. It hasn't grown much at all but hasn't declined either. I'm going to give it more water this year, especially since the Dammaropsis is next to it.

I'm thinking that the two C. fruticosums and the C. microphyllum will do better. They get to be quite large and more shrubby than viney. I believe that LA Arboretum has a huge C. fruticosum.

-Ron-
 
Dean, that particular pic looks very much like the Combretum grandiflorum I had. The plant was quite vigorous and had covered the whole north side of the house in one summer so my assumption was that it was a massive vine because I moved by Spring of the next year. This was in the Broadway Heights area, just east of downtown San Diego and just west of Lemon Grove.

None of my other Combretums that I presently have show such vigor.

-Ron-
 
I have three Combretum; grandiflorum, fruticosum, and aubletii. All are outstanding in bloom. They seem to be moderate to fast growers that are much happier in the ground than in pots. These woody vines are in the same family (Combretaceae) as Quisqualis indica, the Rangoon creeper, and are similar in growth style & habit. Great plants!
 
There are 2 Combretums at the Deerfield Beach Arboretum. I don't know the species of either but one is not as vigorous as the other and has bloomed this past year, very similar to the grandiflorum pic.

The second vine is incredibly fast and has almost consumed the Sabal palmetto it is growing on, but it just doesn't bloom. It looks very healthy but no joy as to blooming. By the way, the Rangoon Creeper never blooms either.

Jerry
 
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