[JTh]

I collected some seeds when we were at the AGM in Mallorca last year, and I had written Podranea on the paper bag I collected the seeds in. The seeds germinated quickly this spring, and in my greenhouse here in Norway  I now have several very healthy looking plants, which I am pretty sure must be Pandorea jasminoides, which I took a couple of photos of when I found the seeds.  I will try to pack a couple of them in my suitcase when we go to Greece in a few days; could anybody give me some advice on the best place to plant them or anything else that may be useful. I don’t think I have seen these in our area in Halkidiki.

[pamela]

Mine too, collected in Mallorca last year are now strong seedlings.  I dont think they are ready to plant out here yet. I think I will leave mine another year to get a root system.   If you plant out now you will definitely have to have them on a watering system if you are not there all the time. But they are from the Bignonia family.... really tough cookies. 

[JTh]

I have quite a few of them, so I could try one or two this year. We will be there until the end of October, so hopefully there will be some rain after that. The rest will have to be overwintered in the basement in Norway, to keep them frost-free.

[Alisdair]

We had our Pandorea jasminoides Red Eyes on irrigation for its first few years in Greece. It now has no direct irrigation (may get some from an infrequently irrigated lime tree some way away) and - tough as Pamela says - stays green through the hottest summers. It is a definite survivor, both flowers and foliage attractive. Strong growing, at least on the high south-facing retaining terrace wall where we have it.

[Alice]

I had ordered a pack of seeds (can't remember what) from the MGS seed list 2-3 years ago which must have been mislabelled and turned out to be Pandorea jasminoides. Not expecting a climber I had planted my seedling in a bed without support. It absolutely stormed away with weekly watering and not very much depth of soil. When I realised that what I had was a climber I transplanted it next to a SW facing wall again in an area without very much soil and it is doing well. I only identified it after it had flowered.
I would say try to keep its feet shaded and its head in the sun, and I agree with Alisdair that it is a definite survivor.

[JTh]

My Pandorea jasminoides plants here in Greece are now in bloom for the first time, it took a while, but was worth the trouble. They look very healthy and have many flowers, I'm surprised I don't see more of them around. I spoke to the owner of a local garden center a couple of days ago, he had a couple of them for sale, but he said  nobody wants to buy them, they all want bougaivilleas and other more showy plants you see everywhere.


_7041881-Edit_Pandorea jasminoides.jpg by JorunT, on Flickr

.

[SusanIbiza]

Thank you for sharing the pic of your very pretty Pandorea Jorun.  They look lovely when growing over a pergola.  If we had a suitable spot here, I would certainly buy one.  I guess the Bouganvilleas are more tolerant of the harsh condition we sometimes have here in the Med.  We have one that I thought was nearly dead when we first moved to Ibiza 2 years ago.  We pruned it back hard.  It loses all its leaves in the winter as it gets the full force of the salt laden winds, but by May it is in full bloom.  I water it only rarely. 
Perhaps that is why the bouganvillea is so popular.  They are as tough as old boots.

[JTh]

Thank you, Susan, I actually have the impression the Pandorea is tougher than the bougaivillea, which I have never had any success with here. We have a 'salty' climate as well, we are about 150 m from the sea. I still have two large pandoreas still in Norway, I keep it in the greenhouse in summer, in the basement in the winter. They are so large now I wonder if it will be possible to bring them here.

[KatG]

I trained this plant over a first floor balcony at a house 450m above sea level. It survived frosts in winter and was not watered at all after its first summer but flourished nevertheless. It was eventually damaged by heavy snow one winter but re-sprouted from the base.