Autumn officially ends today, so deciduous climbers such as ornamental grapes, Virginia creeper and Boston ivy have dropped their brilliant leaves, leaving bare stems until spring.
Elsewhere in the garden, honeysuckle may be having a last gasp but the star of autumn climbers has to be the Chilean bellflower, Lapageria rosea. Although its pinky-red bells with faint speckles are at their best from mid-autumn, this evergreen from South America can start flowering in January and sneak in the occasional flower all year round.
The national flower of Chile, it grows in forests, appreciating the ample moisture and semi-shade trees provide.
In the South, our cool, wet summer almost guaranteed a good flowering season, so those who grow Lapageria should be enjoying plenty of blooms.
Although found naturally only in Chile, bellflowers were taken to Europe in the 1840s and one was flowering at Mount Peel station in Canterbury in 1872.
Initially treated as a greenhouse plant, the bellflower was found to be hardy enough to be grown outdoors in most parts of the country.
The dark green, pointed, leathery leaves are slightly glossy and attractive throughout the year but sometimes the lamina (green leaf blade) gets chomped, presumably by a small grub or caterpillar, although I’ve never seen in action those that damage my plant.
The long-lasting waxy flowers are usually red but there is a pure white form, Lapageria rosea var albiflora, rare in the wild. The two apparently cross-breed well, the offspring producing blooms of varying pink shades.
In Chile, the flowers are pollinated by hummingbirds and as we don’t have them, pollination here tends to be erratic and the seed-filled fruit, up to 5cm long, is rarely seen. The fruit is edible, apparently tasting a bit like watermelon flesh, but as my Lapageria is yet to honour me with a crop, I can’t vouch for the flavour.
Bellflowers grow slowly, eventually reaching about 6m. Being forest vines, they twine up trees but may need a bit of help getting started. They work well on trellises and fences in semi-shade if the soil is consistently moist.
Many nurseries stock Lapageria and plants cost about $50 for the red species, more for the harder-to-find white.
Chilean bellflowers are slightly different climbers, adding colour when other climbers have done their dash.
