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GENERAL
Origin
:
tropical
Vigour
:
fairly fast
growing
Humidity
:
semi-humid, very
humid, extremely
humid
Propagation :
sowing and
pricking out,
cuttings
Maintenance :
low
CONDITIONS
Urban climate :
vulnerable
Dessication :
vulnerable
Stagnant water :
vulnerable
Irrigation
:
high
Salinity/ppm :
moderate (2500
ppm)
Hardiness
:
+3°C
SHAPE
Type
:
climbers
Height
:
3 m-6 m
Spread
:
5 m-7 m
Foliage
:
evergreen
FLOWER
Colour
:
violet, pale
yellow, pale pink
Size
:
6 cm
Period
:
April - October
FRUIT
Type of fruit :
capsule
Fruit size
:
25 cm
Toxicity
:
inedible
The Glow Vine is a spectacularly flowering, wide-spreading, climbing plant in the trumpet vine
family, native to Colombia and Ecuador; it can also be shaped into a large shrub, with a bare
stem and thick crown. A free-growing vine up to 6 metres long, it has dark-green, dense foliage. S.
magnifica will grow in the protected environment of a garden in Arriyadh. The stems are almost
round in cross-section, and marked with longitudinal stripes. The elliptical, smooth, leathery
leaves have two unequal leaflets with rounded ends, and another two leaflets at the base of the
stalk. They have an orange-red colouring during the winter. The magenta, scented panicles of lar-
ge, bell-shaped flowers, have hairy, yellow throats and magenta nectar lines. These bright flowers
appear from spring to autumn. The fruit is a long, flattened capsule. Glow Vine prefers cultivated,
deep, but well-drained, moist soil with plenty of humus. Propagation is from seed and cuttings. It
requires a hot, sunny position with some light shade, especially in Arriyadh; it is also frost-tender
and needs protection from the wind. Regular watering is necessary, and deep watering every
four weeks in summer is vital. Mature organic fertiliser added to the soil every year in spring is
recommended. S. magnifica is prone to fungal diseases, which should be treated pre-emptively
with a systemic fungicide; an insecticide should be applied to prevent the attack of aphids and
cochineals before the hot weather begins. Otherwise, the Glow Vine needs little maintenance.
274
Saritaea magnifica,
Bignoniaceae
Glow Vine