Medinilla Magnifica

[orchidsarefun]

It seems these are now readily available in the USA - I just got one from my local Home Depot.

It's a spectacular plant, with huge, long-lasting blooms
Medinilla Website


Mine has 3 blooms, yet to open and is in a 6.5in pot.
Not bad for $27. It's tailor-made for more temperate climates too !

[sbrofio]

Lovely! I've never been able to grow it here in northern Italy. I know someone (via Facebook) can grow it in south Italy (much warmer in winter) and now,from a plant like yours (2 feet 50/60cm) they have a shrub 3 meters / 10 feet tall always flowering every summer. They want a lot of humidity all year round and good air movement.

[Ordphien]

Oh dear. I want one.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

[sbrofio]

by the way, are they rare in USA? Here in Italy not common as cyclamen (very common) but easy enough to find during their flowering period.

[orchidsarefun]

yep, they are/were rare. They all are sourced from Canada, same grower. I got to know this plant from someone who bought his for $45, much smaller, about 9 months ago.........and I have been trying to find a reasonably-priced one ever since.
As I understand the culture, they don't do well in warmer climes and prefer cooler, rather than hot temps all year round.........in other words, perfect for my windowsill culture !

[sbrofio]

I believe (not sure) intermediate all year round, not under 15°C (59°F), very humyd and not direct strong sun. They are from Philippines and Java

[orchidsarefun]

17-25C, 63-77f - though my friend allows his to go to 55f and has great blooms.
from website
"Medinilla magnifica finds its origin in the mountains of the Philippines. It is an epiphyte, which is a plant that grows on other trees but does not withdraw its food from those trees as parasites do. This type magnifica is the only Medinilla with splendid pink flyleaves and such a large flower. Late king Boudewijn of Belgium was a big devotee of Medinilla. He grew them in the royal conservatories and they flaunted on the bank note of 10,000 Belgian francs."

[WhiteRabbit]

Beautiful!

This species of Medinilla is more commonly known as the Philippine Orchid, and it is an epiphyte.

, but is in the family Melastomataceae

*moving to "Off Topic forum*

[Tindomul]

Very nice. Your post reminded me of last years Orchid Show at the NY Botanical Gardens. So many people thought these were orchids because they were displayed as companion plants. I kept explaining to everyone around me how they weren't orchids.

[NYCorchidman]

I see them quite often here as well including the orchid show in NJ recently.

They are big and showy. I thought they were fake when I first saw them.