Medinilla Magnifica
One of the most elegant flowering plants you can grow indoors, Medinilla Magnifica is every bit as magnificent as its name.
However, it’s not easy to please, unless you can provide the high humidity this tropical native craves. Use every means to increase the moisture in the air around it.
Pairs of thick, glossy green leaves cover the upright stems. The leaves get big — up to 1 ft (30 cm) long — and are deeply veined with wavy edges.
In spring, given enough light and humidity, you can expect long, pendulous flower stalks to grow from the tips of the branches. The flower heads are spectacular. Clusters of small, pink flowers are carried beneath 2 or 3 tiers of pink bracts.
There are approximately 400 species of Medinilla, of which until now only the magnifica is supplied as a houseplant. The family name of the Medinilla is Melastomataceae. Medinilla magnifica finds its origin in the mountains of the Philippines. It is an epiphyte, which is a plant that grows on other trees but does not withdraw its food from those trees as parasites do. This type magnifica is the only Medinilla with splendid pink flyleaves and such a large flower. Late king Boudewijn of Belgium was a big devotee of Medinilla. He grew them in the royal conservatories and they flaunted on the bank note of 10,000 Belgian francs. The growing of Medinilla’s in greenhouses was such a great success that now everyone can enjoy the beauty of Medinilla!
