Common Name: rose glory bower
Type: Deciduous shrub
Family: Lamiaceae
Native Range: China, northern India
Zone: 7 to 10
Height: 3.00 to 6.00 feet
Spread: 3.00 to 6.00 feet
Bloom Time: July to October
Bloom Description: Red
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Medium
Suggested Use: Naturalize
Flower: Showy, Fragrant
Leaf: Fragrant
Attracts: Butterflies
Tolerate: Drought
Culture
Winter hardy to USDA Zones 7-10 where it is best grown in evenly moist, organically rich, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. Best in full sun, but often appreciates some light afternoon shade in hot summer climates. Established plants have good drought tolerance. Consider pruning stems hard to the ground in early spring in order to promote compact plant form. Propagate by root suckers, cuttings or root sections. Where winter hardy, plants will spread aggressively and invasively in the landscape by root suckers which should be regularly pruned out. In St. Louis, rose glory bower may be grown in containers which are overwintered indoors in bright sunny conservatory-like rooms. Mist foliage frequently. Best indoor placement is a bright southern exposure with indirect sun.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Clerodendrum bungei, commonly called rose glory bower, is a suckering deciduous shrub which grows somewhat rapidly to 6' tall. It is native to China. It is best ornamentally grown as a shrub to 2-3' tall. Oval leaves (to 12" long) with toothed edges are dark green above and fuzzy bronze-green beneath. Leaves are malodorous when crushed. Salverform (slender tube with abruptly spreading corolla), rosy red flowers (each to 3/4" wide) bloom in loose clusters to 8" across from summer into fall. Flowers are very showy and fragrant. Flowers are attractive to butterflies. Rose glory bower will form a spreading colony by suckering if not restrained. It has escaped gardens and naturalized from Texas to Georgia and Florida.
Genus name comes from the Greek words kleros meaning chance and dendron meaning a tree.
Specific epithet honors Russian botanist Alexander von Bunge (1803-1890).
Problems
No serious insect or disease problems. Watch for aphids, whitefly, mealybugs, scale and spider mites. Leaf spot is an occasional problem.
Uses
Attractive flowering shrub which should be planted in somewhat isolated areas where aggressive spread can be controlled.