There's a story behind Deppea splendens.  In 1973, botanist Dennis Breedlove discovered this eye-catching plant while trekking through the mountains of southern Mexico.  It was a beautiful member of the coffee family, with rich, warm colors that almost seemed to glow.  The plants were found nowhere else except a single location in the Mexican hills.  When Breedlove returned to the site in 1986, the plants were gone - a victim of farmland development.  The species is now believed to be extinct in the wild.  Fortunately, Breedlove had saved some seeds of Deppea and grew them. Any existing plants of this species originated from those seeds.  This is one of the rarest plants in cultivation today.

Deppea splendens is an evergreen bush that grows about 6 to 10 feet tall (potentially double that in the wild).  The leaves have an interesting, ribbed texture to them.  The plant flowers from fall through spring here in San Francisco and is a heavy bloomer.  The 2½" blooms are mango or apricot in color, with a burgundy or wine-red calyx.  The tips of the petals are sunset orange before they recurve gracefully.  Each flower - and the entire cluster - is suspended by a long, wiry stem.  This is a very elegant and beautiful species, and not simply a "collector's plant". 

Deppea needs frost-free conditions, and it's important to stress that this plant must be protected from freezing temperatures.  It grows well in a pot and can be grown indoors if the air isn't too dry.  This is a cloudforest plant that likes moderate temperatures, tree-filtered sun, and moist soil.  I'm not sure if it will thrive in hot or dry climates.  If you can provide the right conditions, you'll find this is an easy to grow plant.

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