Zooming in on the inflorescence in the middle:

I mentioned this plant in an earlier post. I bought it in September at the monthly sale at Strybing Arboretum (San Francisco Botanical Garden) in a 1 gallon pot for $20.

BUT....so difficult here in England! Despite wet summers, it gets destroyed by spider-mite. Also a very untidy plant which needs support. I had flowers like yours 4 years ago. This year it had lots of buds, most of which aborted. Last week I had a good flowering-stem, just for one day....something broke it!!! Probably a pigeon. Grrrr!

It hates hot humid weather and spider mites will kill it quickly. I had my best luck with it keeping it just inside the shade line of some trees in a pot, and during a cool summer.

For more, search for ÑUXCH’U! or ñucchu.

http://www.infocusco.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=5060

You say that Digging Dog is looking for a new stock plant. Are they looking for a larger plant, or would they take a rooted cutting? I'd be more than happy to give them one in exchange for a cutting in return if mine should die. Do you have a contact there? It's a shame that an easy to propagate plant is essentially unavailable in this country.

This is my largest one at the moment:

My plant is outside in an area that gets full sun in the morning , full shade in the afternoon. It is surrounded by Passifloras (Tacsonias) that have the worst spider mite problems of all my plants. So far the Salvia has been OK, although it has had a few. Slugs and Snails love the cuttings.