Large Bract Hydrangea Vine. Scott McMahan of the Atlanta Botanical Garden and Ozzie Johnson collected seed of this species in northern Vietnam in the fall of 2008. He shared some of the seed with me and I was able to coax a few to germinate. Of these, two survived and I was able to get them to grow off and subsequently make cuttings from them. He was able to take several pictures of dried bracts that were still remaining on the plant in the fall of 2008 where the plant was found. It absolutely boggles the mind to see the size of a single bract. It appears to be 4-5" long. Another amazing attribute of this species is that it has proven to be evergreen even down to the mid teens here in zone 8. I have posted Scott's and Ozzie's pictures in the wild in Vietnam. As of late May, 2024, the first flowers appeared on a plant at the Atlanta Botanical Garden. This is truly a day of celebration. The last picture is courtesy of Ozzie Johnson and is the first flowering of this species probably in the Western Hemisphere.
Zones 7-10 (guessing)
