Lapageria rosea 'Myrtle Wolf's Pink'

New in my collection in 2008, the soft pink flowers are borne in abundance and are in several shades of pink according to temperature. Like all Lapageria it needs cool moist acid soil in shade, absolutely hates direct sun for any length of time, although the top of the plant will be happy if the lower part is shaded. The flowers are waxy bells and it is in flower from July through to March. Due to its flowering period and the fact that new growth can be frost damaged it needs a sheltered place (min -8c) or grow it down the shady end of the conservatory.
The species comes from Chile; the majority of wild plants have cherry red flowers with occasional pale pinks and whites. Introduced around 1847.

The cultivar Lapageria 'Myrtle Wolf's Pink originated from Mr Ed Carman of Carman's Nursery Los Gatos but was named in honour of Myrtle Wolf by Sarah Wikander the then propagator at Berkeley due to her generosity to the Botanic gardens and her commitment to California native plants in general. The plant in her garden having done exceptionally well she had for years been giving propagating material to Berkeley. I lost my 2009 original introduction and was unable to fit a replacement in when we collected the last batch in 2019 due to its sheer size. Carlos is going to try and rehome his large pot full back to Berkeley. By happy chance Tom Hudson of Tregrehan gifted me a small layer from his plant also from Berkeley this summer