I've never heard of this plant. Where did you buy it? I live in Houston and have the same situation.

It's clerodendrum bungei - aka Cashmere Bouquet, Rose Glory Bower, Mexicali Rose. I bought mine on Ebay - when they arrived early last spring, they were just sticks, but soon began to sprout once I potted them up.

They can be invasive - if you have concerns about this, just grow it in a pot. For me, I'm glad to have it take over this bed and have also transplanted sprouts to our front circular drive, under a pecan tree where it will also be well contained.

Deadheading will encourage more blooms. Cut it to the ground after the first frost to encourage branching and more blooms the next year.

Even though it's so prolific, no one has given it a negative (on the link below). I guess that's because it's so attractive and smells so good. Makes a good pass-along plant. Note that reviewers also said that if the babies are dug and removed, the mother plant quits making more.

I have spent so much money on hydrangeas in the past that it's good to find a good Texas substitute. And did I mention that it smells great? ;-) And it's a butterfly magnet?

I am also trying a tree form - Harlequin Glory Bower (clerodendrum trichotomum) that grows 20'+ tall, blooms mid to late summer, and is a fragrant butterfly magnet, as well.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/772/

Here is a link that might be useful: Mexican Hydrangea

Do you know if these are like the other hydrangeas and prefer acidic soil? I'd love to find one that could survive in our alkaline soil (Austin area). I hadn't heard of Mexican hydrangeas before.

These are not picky about alkaline soil. The flowers attract ants. I have grown them in Austin and again out in the hill country. I did have a friend who put them in a long time ago and her Yard is over run by them. I Love the flower but I didn't want to be fighting that problem and when I started seeing the roots traveling pretty far , I started uprooting them , because I saw that I might be seeing a growing job. This was several years back and it took a couple of years to get rid of them.. I lived in one house where everything I picked became an invasive or garden thug. Between the ruella, Pavonia hastata, Clerodendron, wandering Jew relative, wood sorrel, Blue sky vine, plumed poppy and Japanese rice plant, it was maddening. I moved. Now I am much more careful about my evaluations. No thugs aloud. True it might have been that I had a small garden and had a habit of picking plants that needed AREAS to grow into. It was gang warfare on the head of a pin.

Agreed, it is a wonderful plant for alkaline soil, but since it likes to travel around the yard, over to the neighbors, around the block ;-) LOL I try to keep it confined to a big pot.

I put screen wire in the bottom and set the pot on a large paving stone and it still managed to get a shoot out the bottom of the pot. Oh well, it will be somewhat easier to control in a pot anyway. I plan to use more of this beautiful easy to grow plant in another pot or two.

Here it is blooming away under the shade of a pecan tree:

My neighbor Georgeanne just lets it roam all over. She has a mostly shady yard on limestone rock and it looks great where ever it pops up. It is very tropical looking and blooms repeatedly all summer. As mentioned it is an easy plant to start. Early this year Georgeanne just yanked some out of the ground and handed them to me.

This is the type that I got from a fellow swapper.

Here is a link that might be useful: Clerodendrum fragrans

I hadn't heard of Clerodendrum fragrans.

Kathy, how do you like fragrans compared to bungei?

The leaves are large like bungei and the growing habit sounds similar.

Here is a link that might be useful: Clerodendrum fragrans on Dave's Garden ...

The fragrans is the only one I have had. I think I prefer the bloom type to the bungei. It is also invasive.
I think once things cool down, I will put some in a pot that was Diane's mother's. The saucer and pot are all one piece.
They are those agua scalloped pots in the front island bed.

jamiecrouse--big leaf and hybrid hydrangeas will tolerate slightly alkaline soils--these are the types that will be more pinkish in that soil pH. The oakleaf hydrangea would be more unhappy in alkaline situations.

If you are having trouble, it could be due to the actual quality of the soil--is it amended with organic matter, or is it nasty developer fill for your soil at your house?

what does the plant look like in winter (in zone 8b or 9)?

will it loose it's leaves?

It loses its leaves. Just cut the stems down to the ground to encourage more branching and blooms the next season.

Wildflower, it gets watered every two or three days, but not every day. As you can see it is in a fairly large pot and I mixed a few water retaining crystals in the potting soil to hold the moisture as do with all the plants -- even when planted in the ground. You can buy bagged soil that already has them in it.

I asked Jim on the Texas Gallery if it gets pot bound quickly. His reply:

"Roselee, mine has been in the same pot for 3 years. I took in out and added some more potting soil this spring because the soil level was down about 5". The plant wasn't pot bound, and I figured it would be good for another 3 years. It's in a 20" pot."

My neighbor Georgeanne has them in the ground in pretty much unimproved rocky black clay soil and she says they sometimes wilt during the hot afternoons, but perk up overnight like a lot of plants do and doesn't seem to be bothered by it.

It's a beautiful plant. It seems that sometimes we tend to overlook the easy to grow ones. The longer I garden in this heat and drought the more I am for EASY care plants.

Happy gardening!

It is the one plant that thrives and blooms under a very large magnolia tree. It is a bit invasive for me as it does send it's runners out from under the tree into the yard, but I either dig them for sharing or just mow them down. All in all, it has been a good plant for me because I have color where there would have been none.

There is a beautiful photo of a small mass planting of these under a tree. This is the look I'm going for on our circular drive.

I wonder if you could sink a large pot in the ground (with a bit of the rim above ground) and grow them that way. Do you think that would control their spreading?

Here is a link that might be useful: Mexican Hydrangea

Not if there is a hole in the bottom of the pot. I tried that for three months, and after two years, I've finally got it all out of that bed.
Jim

I had the same experience as Jim, went out the hole in the bottom of the pot. Never heard it called Mexican Hydrangea before. It goes totally dormant for me. I have sand so it's easy to pull but man does it spread!! It's all over my yard, the neighbors, in the alley..... I had no idea you could sell it on e-bay, I'm rich I tell you, rich! I can pay for new floors now!!! So if I sell this and the Ruellia.....
And run from the lynch mob when they found out how invasive it is.
Tally HO!

haha...that's why they call it 'marketing' Tally!

Such a pretty plant...I'm severely tempted. But don't want to be pulling it up for the rest of my life.

I have some too, from when we moved in. They have colonized an area between my neighbor's garage and the fence between her and my property. I think this is C bungei. I only got two blooms this year, but I wasn't watering. They looked really pretty growing among my morning glories. I have lots of babies if anyone in Houston wants one!

I HATE THIS PLANT. A friend planted it in an area I had a hard time getting things to grow. Since then, it has taken over my entire yard. I am constantly cutting it back and it comes back fast, spreading itself all over the place. It is a nightmare!

My friend that has this everywhere has this oriental fatalistic acceptance of it. It is just a given in her yard.

Yes, beautiful plant, but it can get away from you before you know it. I wish there was a tamer version out there.

Mara, your friend is wise. My neighbor up the street has had to do the same.

I skimmed some of the responses above. Tally's made me laugh. Sure do miss her!

Yes I do. An epiphyllum from her will bloom tonight. She will be on my mind... Tally Ho!