Brunfelsia pauciflora in the UK
 

Hi I just wondered if anyone else has had any luck growing this shrub outdoors in the uk? I have a plant that i brought back from the south coast of Sri Lanka, which i accidently left out all last winter. It was quite a large shrub, maybe 2ft in diameter, and survived right through the winter in a pot only losing it's leaves in feb/march. It was back in full leaf by the end of April and flowered all May and June before resting for 2 months and just beginning to flower again. I'm wondering if it was just a one off, or whether it's safe to leave it out again. I'm in North London and i guess the minimum would have been minus 4-5.

Brunfelsia pauciflora in the UK
 

Andrew bennett wrote:

Hi I just wondered if anyone else has had any luck growing this shrub
outdoors in the uk? I have a plant that i brought back from the south
coast of Sri Lanka,

That's travelled quite a lot then - S. America to Sri Lanka and then
London ;-)

Pure B. pauciflora and possibly its cvs Floribunda and Eximia can cope
with short periods of cold and ultimate lows of around -4C if
moderately dry at the root. Unfortunately, it appears that most of
Brunsfelsia sold in this country nowadays are the large-flowered,
deeper coloured 'Macrantha' cv, which is decidedly less forgiving and
not really safe below 0C for any length of time.

I've overwintered 'Macrantha' outside here a few times, but to suggest
it coped well with the experience would be a major exaggeration on my
part. Generally, away from favoured regions of the south-west and
urban heat sinks such as London, all Brunsfelsia need to be wintered
frost-free under glass.

Back to yours, which is probably the more cold tolerant 'straight'
species, if I had the plant it would be sited in dappled shade and I
wouldn't think twice about planting it out permanently. If last
winter in your part of the country was typical, then it's a fair bet
yours will survive outside again. Planting with some evergreen
overhead cover will greatly enhance its prospects since rapid freezing
due to exposure to clear open skies often does far greater damage than
sub-zero air temperatures. HTH

Brunfelsia pauciflora in the UK
 

On Thu, 4 Sep 2008 18:15:40 +0100, andrew bennett
wrote:


Hi I just wondered if anyone else has had any luck growing this shrub
outdoors in the uk? I have a plant that i brought back from the south
coast of Sri Lanka, which i accidently left out all last winter. It was
quite a large shrub, maybe 2ft in diameter, and survived right through
the winter in a pot only losing it's leaves in feb/march. It was back
in full leaf by the end of April and flowered all May and June before
resting for 2 months and just beginning to flower again. I'm wondering
if it was just a one off, or whether it's safe to leave it out again.
I'm in North London and i guess the minimum would have been minus 4-5.

I have brunfelsia calycina. I don't know how different yours is but
I'm sure they are not hardy in UK climates. You were lucky.
I did leave out 2 citrus plants last year and they survived. We
didn't have much frost. The coming winter might not be so balmy!

I have had mine over 20 years though the plant I have at present is
about the great-grandchild of the original. They just get too big.
I call it the plant with 9 lives, though that does not include
overwintering outside.

I can heartily recommend theone I have. When it flowers, usually Feb,
the scent in my living room is wonderful. Just one flower can make
its presence known. I have succeeded with cuttings but they are not
easy.
Have a look at this page.
http://www.davids-exoticplants.co.uk/Brunfelsiapage.htm

Pam in Bristol