by Matt Gibson
The tall evergreen bush known as Rondeletia amoena is a perfect plus to the garden as a border to occupy in the background or as an loose hedge . Rondeletia flowers every bounce , then flowers again for four months in the fall from August to November , create tiny rounded clustering of sweet - smelling salmon - pinkish bloom .
aboriginal to Central America , Rondeletia amoena is a drought - tolerant plant that has all but evaporate from modern gardens . With its pleasant immature foliage that ply dense , year - cycle immature mound and beautiful , fragrant flowers that do the three-fold duty of blooming doubly per year ( throughout the bound and the fall ) , it ’s no wonder that the Rondeletia is pop out to make a comeback .
Rondeletia ’s leaf is oval- to oblong - shaped and appears somewhat glossy from a distance , but upon close review , the shrub ’s leaves are really covered in bantam hairs . This texture is why the leaves seem to shine and glimmer when the sun strike them . The flowers of this shrub are terminal multi - ramous panicles that feature dainty white , pinkish , or Salmon River - coloured flowers with yellow-bellied whiskery throats . These flower take shape in cluster at the top of each subdivision of the little tree or shrub . Rondeletia grow flowers that are dripping with nectar , which makes them extremely attractive topollinatorssuch as bees and butterfly .
Rondeletia produce skilful in the warm and Robert Lee Frost - free landscape of Australia , and USDA climate zones 10 and 11 . This pliable bush can be adapted to similar grow environments as long as it ’s given a gay spot and protect from hoarfrost . Rondeletia is originally from Central America , in Mexico , Belize , Guatemala , El Salvador , Nicaragua , Costa Rica , Panama , and Mexico , and it still grows plentifully all across these territory .
Rondeletia is deer tolerant and handily resistant to most gadfly and diseases , realise it easy to handle for in the garden . The genus name , Rondeletia , is in memory of Guillaume Rondelet , a French naturalist from the sixteenth C . Amoena , the species name , is from Latin , and translates to mean “ lovely . ”
Varieties of Rondeletia
Rondeletia amoena is only useable in one variety , but there are a few other Rondeletia plants available for gardeners to farm in their collections . Rondeletia leucophylla and Rondeletia splendens are both flowering plants that are also jazz as the Panama Rose , and these two varieties are comparatively common to gardens in warm climate orbit around the world . There are actually between 125 and 150 other species of Rondeletia , but most of these types are rarely ever originate by home gardener .
Rondeletia leucophylla is the enceinte of Rondeletia amoena ’s two most common relative . It can skyrocket up as high as 15 base and is covered in shaft - shaped leave that grow up to four column inch long . Blooming from December through May , the leucophylla variety raise clump of bright pink flowers that each have four petals . The petals of leucophylla ’s blooms fold backwards , away from the eye of the flowerhead . Rondeletia leucophylla is stout in USDA zones 9 through 11 .
Rondeletia splendens is a straggle , ground - covering shrub that farm about three foot high and produces large bunch of dark pink to rose ruby-red vasiform prime that have a bright yellow eye and blossom intermittently throughout the twelvemonth . The slendens sort of this bush can be grown in the ground or in a container , and it is hardy in USDA zone 10 and 11 .
Though all three Rondeletia industrial plant come from Central America and thrive in similar growing conditions and with similar guardianship , this article will focus on teaching you how to uprise Rondeletia amoena specifically — not the amoena ’s stuffy relatives we ’ve discussed in this section . To read how to acquire the two specie listed here , you ’ll have more success doing a Google search for “ how to grow Panama come up ” instead .
Growing Conditions for Rondeletia
Amoena
In the Robert Lee Frost - free USDA geographical zone 10 and 11 , gardeners should give Rondeletia amoena full sunlight and plenty of fondness as well as allow for pot of hydration during the warmer calendar month of the year . Rondeletia shrub prefer slightly acidulent well - drain territory that is rich with organic material , sooner in a base of flaxen loam or clay loam . For optimum results , the soil where Rondeletia amoena is grown will have apH balanceranging from 5.5 to 6.5 .
How to Plant Rondeletia Amoena
Rondeletia amoena is usually available at greenhouse in the area where this shrub develop easily . Those who ca n’t find it at their local garden core can also grow Rondeletia amoena direct from hardwood cuttings .
It is best to take the cuttings in late October or November . engraft the cuttings in the land immediately after they are take , if potential , and water them deeply until the roots start to take hold . Give these young plants ample space , as Rondeletia amoena tends to produce rather prominent .
Trim your crotch hair back when necessary to maintain the desired shape and to keep the foliage from get out of hand . Each bush can develop to be 15 feet grandiloquent and wide , but most gardeners like to keep their Rondeletia amoena plants at a more accomplishable size of five by five or six by six feet . Pruning your shrubberyback to this sizing will keep it sizeable and flowering profusely .
Care for Rondeletia Amoena
Prune your Rondeletia amoena shrubs after they blossom to upgrade leaf denseness as well as to help the plant keep the proper sizing and flesh . curve flowering shoot back to within just a few nodes of last year ’s growth after the season ’s blooms fade by .
It ’s up to each gardener to adjudicate how tall and wide they would like their shrubs to grow , as Rondeletia amoena can reach giant proportions if left untrained . This works ’s breadth can make anywhere from five to 15 feet as well , so be certain to rationalize your shrubbery back when you feel like it ’s stretching out too far in any direction .
Once your Rondeletia amoena is established , the shrub can benefit greatly from a light software of fertilizer . It is best to put on fertilizer to Rondeletia amoena early in its farm time of year , as fertilizing too belatedly will upgrade a lot of new leafage growth that will not have time to get strong enough to survive the coming wintertime temperature .
Use a fertilizer that has a grim amount of atomic number 7 once every two or three years . gamy level of N in your soil will cause the shrubs to put more energy into leafy growth instead of concenter on abundant flowering . Adding a three - in layer ofmulchwill help your Rondeletia amoena industrial plant to retain moisture as well as protect them against invasive neighbors and frosts .
Pruning Tips for Rondeletia Amoena
Pruning encourage new growth and increased bloom output as well as increase the air flow circulate through Rondeletia amoena ’s foliage , which help to foreclose disease . Do all of the well-fixed trimming during the first few weeks of spring . Take out all stagnant , dying , pathological , discredited , or crossed branches at this clock time .
After the give efflorescence stop end in mid to tardy summertime , cut back your shrubbery ’s efflorescence shoots , and take out some of the erstwhile growth . The summertime month are also when you should remove all dead , damaged , or diseased wood , then thin out the bush if want . cutting should only occur every few years , and should be done by removing just a few branches all the way down to the ground .
Each year , thin out back blossom stems by half in Holy Order to produce impregnable newfangled shoots . Also cut half of the remaining blossom stems all the way down to the ground . rationalize your plants correctly and at the correct meter will keep your Rondeletia amoena flowering and growing warm for many year to come .
Companion Planting With Rondeletia
Amoena
As a background shrub , Rondeletia amoena go well with just about every plant it ’s possible to partner with . When it ’s in flower , though , this mini - tree is a star all on her own . plant life someshade - loving plantsunderneath your Rondeletia amoena , where more sun - loving specimen would not flourish . beleaguer your shrubbery with purple and blue bloom , as these hues wo n’t cark from Rondeletia ’s beauty but will be a complemental pairing against its Salmon River - hued flowers .
Garden Pests and Diseases of
Rondeletia Amoena
Rondeletia shrubs are cervid tolerant and are usually pest and disease - free . The flora is drouth kind , but it does die off in uttermost cold . Though it ’s rare , Rondeletia amoena is occasionally inconvenience oneself by wanderer mites , mealy bugs , and whitefly .
Videos More About Rondeletia Amoena
First , hold in out this quick television to learn how to correctly articulate the name :
This video bear witness a nice full - size of it shaft as well as closeups of the Rondeletia as a mature tree diagram in full bloom :
Want to Learn More About Rondeletia
Amoena?
Backyard Gardener covers Rondeletia Amoena
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SFGate Homeguides covers Panama Rose
iGarden covers Rondeletia Amoena
