[Charithea]

I have tried to grow Pavonia praemorsa from seed and fail a few times.  Imagine the pleasure of been given a flowering plant of it as a gift. This lovely bush was given to me last week by Mrs Sally Razalou the custodian of the MGS garden in Sparoza. It has been a custom to visit Sparoza whenever we are in Athens to have a chat with Sally and look around to see how the gardens fares at different times of the year. We rely on the kindness of friends to drive us there and I must say they never disappoint us. The garden and it Keeper also never disappoint.  Sally gave us her guided walk and I was instructed to the needs of certain plants and showed me a different way of growing cuttings in perlite. This bush has came with a 'birth certificate' Cutting put in perlite 25th Nov 14 potted on 23rd Sept 15 arrived in Cyprus in John J's hand luggage 30th June 16. Now flowering in the shade in our back garden. The Salvia is an added bonus.

[John J]

Photo of a Pavonia flower taken this morning.

[John J]

A little more information about the Pavonia. It is named after J Pavon, a Spanish botanist of the 1800s. The flowers last for just one day but it flowers intermittently almost all year round. The leaf tips are indented as though they have been bitten off, in fact the specific name, praemorsa means 'as if bitten off'. Ours is still residing in a large pot, we have not yet chanced it in the ground although it is reported to be drought tolerant, preferring well-drained soil.