Plants are always much more tender in pots than in the ground. So, I would recommend bringing them in for the winter. Titanotrichum is hard to flower. This is one reason why Bill Price's plant won the best in show at the convention two years ago. It beat out some awesome competition--most of which was also grown by Bill! So, what happens instead is that it will makes spikes with propagules rather than flower buds. If you get any flowers you are doing well. Many think that the way to flower this plant is to grow it so that it never dries out while in growth. One way to do this is to grow it in a big pot and wick it at the same time. I think John Boggan has flowered it in his Washington DC garden so he might have more to contribute. I think you can wait until the stem dries up before harvesting the propagules. They behave much like seed.

Jon (I've never flowered it either, though I am not growing it at present).

Constant moisture? oh no, not my forte :(
As always, thanks very much for all the info.

Yes, constant moisture is an absolute must for success with Titanotrichum. If in a pot, I would suggest placing it in a saucer that has water in it at all times. I have found them a bit more forgiving planted outdoors directly in the ground.

It sounds like your plant is producing propagules and more often than not they will produce only propagules instead of blooming in their first year. In the fall it forms large underground rhizomes and the plants that grow from these next year will be much larger and will bloom as long as you never let them dry out! I have found the rhizomes to be completely hardy in my garden but I have had little luck overwintering them indoors. Unlike the scaly rhizomes of New World gesneriads, the rhizomes of Titanotrichum must never be allowed to dry out; I would suggest keeping them cool and barely moist until they sprout in the spring.

The propagules will eventually dry out and fall from the stems on their own. At this point you can scrape them off into an envelope, or just shake the stems over a white sheet of paper. The propagules are tiny and look exactly like seeds; in fact they can be planted exactly like seeds and the plants that grow from them "germinate" looking just like seedlings, although they are clones of the mother plant. It's a good idea to start a few indoors over the winter, in case you lose your rhizomes.

John B - thanks for stopping in. I might dig up one and leave the other outside, and of course I'll sow those propagules.....