Acnistis australis (Iochroma australe)
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Acnistis australis (Iochroma australe)• Click here to visit our Main Plant List page for current availability of this plant
• common names: mini angel's trumpet
• flowering season: outdoors it flowers summer into fall, potted indoors it flowers from spring to fall
• height: 4 to 6 feet, up to ten feet tall in mild parts of California
• Light requirements: morning light, afternoon shade
• Soil requirements: average
• Water requirments: average
• Growth habit: grows into an upright shrub
• How to propagate: cuttings in early summer
• Leaf type: oval green leaves, dropping its leaves in winter
• Other points of interests: although there isn't a blue/purple brugmansia (angel's trumpet), this close relative of angel's trumpet has masses of small, hanging purple/blue flowers throughout summer
A native to woodlands in Bolivia and Argentina, our plants of this are propagated by cuttings so that they all have the same flower color of this unusual purplish-blue. Plant it where it receives protection from the hot, afternoon sun. Otherwise it likes lots of light. It grows well with average soil and average watering. The flowers are one or two inches long and hang in groups from the branches. A plant grows into a moderately sized shrub in several years. For us, it has survived temperatures down to about 8ºF, where we have it planted on the leeward side of a building and next to taller neighboring shrubs for some added protection in winter. Cold hardy to USDA Zone 8.