Cultus Bay Nursery on south Whidbey Island is a plant-lover's paradise - have I ever left there without fresh finds in hand? Last weekend was no exception.
I'd never heard of the stunning violet tubeflower (Iochroma cyaneum 'Royal Purple Queen') which seems to have a confused name, as I find the words in various order on different web sites. There's no confusion about how much hummingbirds love this plant with flowers reminiscent of phygelius. It hails from South America, is hardy to zone 7 (we'll see......) and in the Solanaceae family along with tomatoes, peppers and angel trumpets (brugmansia). Clusters of dark purple flowers are set off by glamourously large, velvety leaves, and best of all it tops out at only two to three feet, so you get lots of impact in a small space. Since it's bred for heat and humidity, I'm not expecting rapid or extravagant growth. Not only was I smitten with it's status as a hummingbird magnet, but also that it supposedly blooms all summer long, helped along with a bit of deadheading. Violet tubeflower prefers a warm spot in the garden with full sun, free-draining soil, frequent fertilizing to keep it flowering, and a nice layer of winter mulch. Supposedly it'll act like a perennial in our climate and die back to the ground; I'm just hoping it's not the annual I suspect it will be.
I plant to plant it with the hardy fuchsia 'Preston Bay' (also from Cultus Bay), that also has a remarkably long bloom season. This beauty grows only a couple of feet tall, with white sepals and purple petals fading to pink. I'm keeping my prizes on the deck to admire for awhile before they go into the ground:
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