Pachypodium.
By Stan510
31 Oct, 2015
1 like
An oddball. They are related to Oleander and Plumeria. The flowers on this plant look very much like a Plumeria.
In the tropics a tree. In the bay area? Lucky to be alive after 7or 8 years. It was small when I started.
Comments on this photo
When I first got that plant,it was dish garden size. It has survived very well the 2007 freeze,the 2013 freeze and it sailed through a very rainy 2008 or 09. I planted it in 2006.
Its a bit hardier then most clones sold. So far Andy it sticks to the small thin foliage. My large potted one has the Plumeria leafs.
Interesting too is...as the weather gets chillier,that plants leafs will turn black. Not,frosted black,just healthy black. I posted it like that on Daves Garden.
DG,has some of my best photos that viruses and dead hardrives took away from me!
10 Nov, 2015
That's interesting. My Pachypodium which is a rarer species looses most of its leaves in winter. It blooms occasionally. I've had it for 10 years or so. The large-leaf variety of Pachypodium lamerei does best here and grows largest.
15 Nov, 2015
It's a tough, hardy plant. It just doesn't like cold, wet soil.
They grow very quickly in very hot weather, in the ground.
The largest ones here in San Diego are over 15' tall. The tallest one I ever saw was at a botanical garden in Palm Springs. It was over 30' (10m) tall. It was planted in that botanical garden in 1990.
3 Nov, 2015