Japanese name: ベニチョウジ（紅丁子） Scientific name:Cestrum elegans
[Overview]
A semi-climbing evergreen shrub that grows to about 2 m.
The branches droop gracefully or arch, and bear fine hairs.
Leaves are simple and alternate, oblong-lanceolate to lanceolate, about 10–15 cm long, and entire.
Racemes emerge from the leaf axils or stem tips.
The flowers are tubular, about 3 cm long, and purplish red; the tip of the corolla is 5-lobed.
The fruit is a spherical berry that ripens purplish red.
[Cultivation]
Propagate by cuttings.
It prefers sunny, well-drained, moist soil.
It drops its leaves in severe cold.
In a greenhouse it also flowers in winter.
From spring to autumn, water thoroughly when the soil surface dries; in winter keep it on the dry side.
From spring to autumn, place slow-release fertilizer on the soil.
Pests include scale insects and aphids.
