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eristal

P. x exoniensis x P. umbilicata bloomed!

eristal
14 years ago

I thought most people would not have seen one of these yet, so I thought I'd put a link to the pictures I took this morning.

Actually the first picture is of a bud from a different branch that is about 2 days behind the one that bloomed. The next few, where is it just partially open were taken at about 8:00 PM last night. I was gone all day, so I wasn't sure whether he was still opening or if I had missed it. This morning, though, at a bit before 7:00 AM, I found out that it seems to open over a long period. It is now reflexed, and I wonder how far it will go. I would have liked to have caught it flat, but it's still beautiful.

Oh, and just like P. x exoniensis, the camera just doesn't do it justice. You can't quite capture that color!

Also, I live in a very hot dry part of northern california and most tacsonias seem to hate me, even P. exoniensis, which is the maternal plant, always has dropped it's buds and usually dies in the heat, even in the shade. The P. umbilicata is supposedly not heat tolerant either, but the cross between the two seems to have made some magic combination.

The petals and sepals are a bit wrinkly on this one, and I am not sure if the heat may have damaged the bud some, or perhaps it is from me poking and prodding it last night, or if they will all be like that. I have heard that that can be the case with some.

Yes, I bought this at Strybing at the spring sale. I am pretty sure that it is seed grown at the gardens from the cross which was made by Henk Wouter. He sent them seeds in 2003, and has since registered two different ones. One is P. 'Blowback'. One flower is not quite enough to tell if this one has many differences or not. I will study the next couple in more detail. Not that I would ever register a hybrid that someone else crossed. But I would be happy to make my own hybrid with this parentage!

Oh, and there are some pictures of a few other favorites in the garden that looked nice this morning for those that are interested...

Happy Gardening!

Eric Wortman

Here is a link that might be useful: Picasa Album

Comments (8)

  • eristal
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Oops! One mistake. Crystal tells me that we actually bought this one last summer at one of the monthly Strybing sales. I get so confused!!

  • karyn1
    14 years ago

    Interesting cross. It's definitely different then exoniensis. I'm keeping the tasconias in a greenhouse with a shade cloth, mister and fans going. It normally gets too hot during the summer for them here as well though this year has been unusually cool and wet so far. The color of your bloom seems to have more purple and the petals are thinner then exoniensis. The corona (?) filaments are also much longer.
    Here's my exoniensis. I think you see more umbilicata in your bloom. The rest of your flowers are beautiful as well.

    {{gwi:493572}}
    {{gwi:493575}}

    BTW I'm so jealous that you and Randy live so close to Strybing and Annie's!

  • rosepedal
    14 years ago

    Eric just wanted to say your pics are amazing....Yes I am jello too..:) Hi Karyn!

  • passionlove
    14 years ago

    Very cool flower..almost the color of exoniensis and the form of an umbilicata.

  • eristal
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Thanks for the comments...

    One interesting thing about this flower is how slowly it moves. One petal just started opening this morning about 7:30. That petal is just now, at 2:00, about a third of the way open, and a second petal is starting to open. By the time I go to bed, I expect all petals to be open, but the flower not to have reflexed at all... it will still be like an open umbrella. Sometime in the middle of the night is will become perfectly flat, (which is when I want to take a picture, of course), and then by morning it will be reflexed most of the way. Then it will reverse direction and close just as slowly, to be finished by tomorrow night.

    So weird and opposite many of our other Passies. P. mooreana started to show signs that it was going to open when I looked at it around noon. We went out to lunch, came back and it was fully open. By the way, has anyone smelled a P. mooreana? WOW! Not in a P. 'Sunburst' kind of wow either. It smells kinda like gardenias to me. And much stronger than a P. caerulea or P. 'Incense'

    When it comes to fruit production, however, P. x exoniensis x P. umbilicata is very fast. It's obvious overnight whether he's going to take or not. In five or six days, its 2 inches long! Hopefully the fruit will be tasty, and more importantly, the seeds viable!

    Happy Gardening!
    Eric

  • rialira
    14 years ago

    *swoons* that's gorgeous beyond words.

    on a scent related note, what do your caeruleas smell like? mine smells exactly like pineapple guava/feijoa - very distinctive :)

    Ria

  • eristal
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Hey Ria,

    I responded to you via direct email as well, but for others that may be interested, I'll copy and paste it here:

    As far as pineapple guava goes, I have no frame of reference. I've never smelled/tasted one before. I take it that it is similar to P. caerulea... lol.

    If you like scented Passifloras, you must get a P. mooreana. OMG! I can smell the one 2" small flower from 20 feet away. It smells reminiscent of gardenia... nothing like any other Passiflora I've ever had. It's awesome! I'm trying to hybridize it with larger, more showy flowers, in the hope that the cross will hold onto that great scent, but be more atractive. Not that it's ugly. In fact, I think it's very nice. It's very similar to a P. caerulea but smaller and with a little less color.

    Eric

  • jkrup44
    14 years ago

    Beautiful flowers!

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