Japanese name: クレロデンドルム パピヨンローズ Scientific name:Rotheca
[Overview]
An evergreen shrub 1–3 m tall.
The leaves are simple and opposite, elliptic to ovate, with serrated margins.
Panicle-shaped cymes are produced at the branch tips.
The flowers are pale pink; the corolla is 5-lobed, and the 4 stamens and 1 pistil, which extend long and curved from the upper side of the flower, are very conspicuous.
[History]
It is thought to be the same as the plant given scientific names such as Rotheca mastacantha, but that name is invalid.
[Cultivation]
Propagate by cuttings.
It prefers sunny, well-drained soil.
It drops its leaves in low temperatures, but in a warm region without frost it can overwinter outdoors, and if the roots do not freeze it will sprout again in spring even when the aboveground part has died back.
For potted plants, water thoroughly when the soil surface dries; for plants in the ground, rainfall is sufficient unless summer brings a long sunny spell and the soil dries out.
It easily suffers from lack of water in summer, so care is needed.
In spring and autumn, apply slow-release fertilizer placed on the soil.
Aphids can occur.
