Hetty, some how I missed this photo being posted. What an amazing plant. Sure wish I could grow it here.
The entire plant is interesting, and the blooms are stunning. Can't wait to see it in full bloom.

Lynn you could grow it in a pot indoors; I originally (years ago) acquired it from someone in Chicago.
Its quite a fascinating plant.

Okay, you made me happy. Now where can I find one?
How big was yours when you got it in a pot?

Logees has them listed......
They do pretty well from cuttings but they do not develop the fat trunk that seed-grown specimens do.
Mine was pretty big when I got it (about 18" tall and about 5" diameter trunk) and if I had kept it in a pot I would still have it. But I planted it in the ground and it decided it was going to be a tree.... so now it lives at the Naples Botanical Garden where I have visiting rights

Wow, how long ago was that, and how big is it now? Your photo of the entire plant looks quite large.

That was hmmm about 7 years ago and it is now an 8 ft tall tree. But if you leave it in the pot it won't get that big at all.

I just read that it will attain about 4 ft if in a pot.
Thank you Hetty for the information.

I want too! That's a neat plant.

I am growing that plant for many years. It is blooming now too. Here in NJ I keep it outside from the middle of May to ca the middle of September. Not difficult to keep at all.
https://garden.org/thread/view...

Ursula, thank you for the link. Great information for growing in the house.

For what it's worth, I think this plant requires some warmth during its growth season to put out new stem and especially flowers. I have a couple of plants that have done okay for a few years (leafing out during summer and leafless for the rest of the year) but they seem to struggle to actually grow much given our cool climate (lack of summer heat) and/or dry summers (lack of summer rainfall). They do fine in much of Southern California, but here right by the coast with a near-constant onshore breeze, we only get above 30°C/86°F for a few days a year. The happiest plants I've seen are growing in places like Florida and Georgia where summer heat and summer rain come hand in glove. Even Oregon City is a hot place during summer compared to here, so you should not necessarily suffer from this problem, Lynn.

My problem is our very long wet/cool winters. I quit doing indoor plants some years ago. I do have some tender succulents that I keep on the covered patio during winter. Once in a while snow will blow/drift under the roof and cover the plants. I do not water them until summer comes, and they survive.

I keep my plant over the Winter in a bright spot indoors ( small approach room to the greenhouse) together with 2 Plumerias and a couple other, similar reasonably sized tree like plants. I also use a plant light in that spot, so the room is well lit during the day. Day time temp is 70 degr F going down to 60 degr F at night. I still water, but perhaps a bit less, leaves are usually dropping very slowly around January, February.