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Pseudomiltemia filisepala giveaway. Deppea splendens close relative, cool grower.

A friend recently alerted me to the fact that a small Pseudomiltemia filisepala is being auctioned, and the current bid (with several days to go) is surprisingly high. My response is to give one away. If someone is looking for this plant, but does not win this giveaway, I might be willing to trade. I have several, and can root more. I'm looking for mainly Nepenthes (seeds, cuttings, plants) and mainly highland species/hybrids.

I would emphasize that this is indeed a hard to find species, available pretty much just from the SF Botanical Garden and the UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley (plus the occasional online sale). The plant is stunning, and it looks more like Deppea splendens than many Deppea species, with it's dangling flowers, upturned petals, and leaves in sets of three. It's my favorite "Deppea" besides Deppea splendens. However, it's also easy to propagate.

The plant is probably 3-5 feet (grown outside), but I would guess it could be kept to 1-2 feet (and still bloom) with the appropriate pruning (generating more cuttings).

Here's my plant (or a small part of it) in bloom last summer:





And here's the little plant I'll give away (in a 2 3/4 inch pot):



The species is from Chiapas, Mexico, elevation 1800-2400 m. So it needs temperatures between 35-85 F, with cool nights (40s and 50s, maybe low 60s).

I'll give away the plant, with the winner paying postage (Priority Mail, ~$6-$7.15 depending on location), with the usual rules, and I assume there's a program that randomly picks...

I can also add an extra: a very small Deppea obtusiflora. And a few seeds of Passiflora membranacea, variegated--from the same general area/elevation. D. obtusiflora is from Oaxaca, Mexico (1900-2600 m), this strain of P. membranacea from Guatemala (2100 m).

Requirements: U. S. resident, and climate or conditions for growing high elevation plants. I'll extend this for a week--through the end of Feb. 10th.
 
Here's Deppea splendens for comparison, for those who are not familiar with the plant:

 
Randy I'd be all over this if it weren't for my experience with a Sphyrospermum cf buxifolium. I got it in the spring and it did pretty well until summer hit. I managed to rehome it before it died and it's doing well for the new owner along with his highland Neps. Love that whole group but until I make the move to NH I'll have to settle for pics!
 
Where do you get these wonderful plants?
 
Where do you get these wonderful plants?

Considering the variety and having previously lived in El Cerrito I'm thinking the odds he doesn't know Jason Knecht (awesomeplants on EBay) are fairly remote........:devil:
 
Actually, I don't know Jacob Knecht (or Nhu Nguyen), but I've had limited email contact with Nhu.

The biggest sources of my plants are the SF Botanical Garden and Annie's Annuals. UC Botanical Garden in Berkeley (UCBG) and UC Santa Cruz Arboretum are also great sources, as are many local nurseries.

I bought the Pseudomiltmia at the Strybing (SF Botanical Garden) annual plant sale in May 2013, a big 1 gallon plant for $9, I think. I've also seen the plant for sale in their plant shop which is open every day.

UCBG aslo sells the plant. I've never been to one of their big sales, but I saw it at their shop a few months ago. This is a much smaller plant than mine when I bought it. I think the price is visible on the tag--$10:



I got the Deppea splendens pictured above at the Dry Garden in Oakland for $10. I have a bigger plant in a 5 gallon pot that lives at my mom's. That was about $40, from Sloat Nursery in SF (wholesaler San Marcos Growers for both Deppeas). I recently bought a couple 4 inch Deppeas at Annie's Annuals for $13.

The Deppea obtusiflora that I mentioned came from UCBG and I think was $8. I recently bought a Deppea grandiflora there for about the same price, in a 1 gallon pot. All of my UCBG purchases came from their store which is open daily.

I think it's important to mention the sources (and prices) for a lot of these plants, as people in other parts of the country sometimes pay huge amounts for plants that are really impossible outside of coastal California or a cool greenhouse (or the equivalent). I do know someone who grows and blooms Deppea splendens in Central Florida, which I find amazing.

The strange thing is that in this area, most of the really "rare" plants that often go for high prices on Ebay are pretty cheap. These are plants that grow outside in our climate. Plants that need to be inside, in a greenhouse, etc. tend to be much more expensive, probably the same as most of the country.
 
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Part of my problem, in the searing heat of summers in Texas some things just melt.
 
Yeah, I went to college in Houston. I know what it's like.

It's important to point out that the average low temperatures in the summer in places like Texas and Florida are often close to the record high temperatures (ever!) in the locations where these plants are found in the wild. There is no reason why many of them should ever have to deal with temperatures above 75 or 80. To be exposed to this for 6 months straight is often lethal--frequently in the first month.

In California the ideal locations along the coast average in the 60s in the summer for highs, with lows in the 50s. Even in the places that are borderline for many cool growers (say San Jose), the low temperatures are almost never above 60. There are places in California in the Central Valley where it's very hot on a summer day (typically 90+), but lows are still 60 or below. There's a limited number of cool growers that can get by in such climates, because the cool nights save them.

Many people locally know roughly where a given highland tropical species becomes impossible in a place like the Bay Area. The climate is extremely variable, sometimes from block to block; there are places with high temperatures that come close to 90 in the summer, even with cool nights. In spite of the difficulty or impossibility of many species in the warmer Bay Area locations, many people insist that they can grow the plant in places that are unbelievably warm/hot in comparison. And often there's no convincing them otherwise. Unfortunately a lot of sellers (not Awesome Plants--they are one of the better ones), manage to convince people that a plant is "rare" because it's impossible to propagate, newly discovered, etc., when it's rare in Florida and the South because it's simply impossible to grow. It's frightening to think how many dollars per flower has been spent by people in warm climates for a lot of species, such as Brugmansia sanguinea, and Tacsonia Passifloras (parritae, antioquiensis, etc.). Typically, it's many thousands of dollars, divided by zero.

I suspect people who are really into CPs are more savvy than many, partly because of the way Nepenthes are classified according to altitude and temperature demands. Nobody would think of spending $200 on Nepenthes villosa to grow it outside in Miami or Houston. Unfortunately people throw similar amounts of money away for Passiflora parritae, Brugmansia vulcanicola, and many other species, which also have absolutely zero chance of survival. It's very sad. It's more sad that people profit off of peoples' ignorance, and don't even care.
 
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OFFER SUSPENDED, SORT OF

Since this offer has generated no real interest after being up for over 3 days, I'm going to suspend the offer, sort of... I think there's a way I can put these plants to better use, for this forum.

If anyone is still interested in these species, I can definitely offer a Deppea obtusiflora rooted cutting for postage (I have 25+), as well as variegated Passiflora membranacea seeds for postage in the near future. Pseudomiltemia I may have to limit to an unrooted cutting (or root it here), but I should be able to do that in the short term.

The original Pseudomiltemia and Deppea obtusiflora plants that were a part of this offer will go elsewhere, and given the rules of this forum I should probably not say where until this is done... The proceeds will return to benefit the forum, and I'll try to think up something productive and interesting.

Just an FYI: The small Pseudomiltemia plant (not mine, and a little taller) that is currently being sold online is at $58. A week ago a Deppea obtusiflora plant very similar to the one I was going to give away (and again not mine) sold for $61. Seeds of the variegated P. membranacea have sold for as much as $40 for 6 seeds (yet again not mine). I typically send 20+ seeds.
 
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Again, the offer is suspended in its original form (see above), but I wanted to show a photo of a variegated Passiflora membranacea seedling, taken at a friend's place in Palo Alto this Wednesday.

 
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