{"product_id":"medinilla-pendula","title":"Medinilla pendula","description":"\u003cp\u003eMedinilla pendula is grown for the way it hangs. Its stems arch outward and down under their own weight, and the flower clusters dangle below the leaves, so the plant shows off when you look across or up at it rather than down onto it. That makes it a shrub for raised positions: a tall glazed pot on a verandah, a planter along the top of a wall, or the edge of a raised bed where the stems can spill forward.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMalaysian orchid, the name it sometimes carries, belongs mainly to Medinilla myriantha, and it is neither Malaysian nor an orchid. Medinilla pendula comes from the mountain forests of the Philippines, where it often scrambles up tree trunks, and its leaves are set in rings of three or four at each joint rather than in pairs. It is a shrub in the melastome family, a relative of the lasiandra, or tibouchina, that flowers purple in so many warm climate gardens here.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eShelter first, then light\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eComing from cool, mossy mountain forest, it wants steady humidity, shelter and bright shade more than heat. Hot, dry air and afternoon sun are harder on it than a mild winter night, but frost kills it. Bright light without direct midday sun suits it: an east facing covered verandah, a shadehouse, or the dappled light under a palm canopy. Wind is a particular problem for a plant that hangs, because the long stems whip about, snap at the joints and tear the leaves, so give it a still corner. Since a weeping plant is best seen raised, most pendulas live in a pot anyway, and that makes winter simple: unless your winters stay frost free and mild, carry it into a bright room once autumn nights turn cold, and keep it away from heaters and air conditioning vents, which dry the air and brown the leaf edges.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBecause it usually lives in a container, the potting mix decides whether it thrives. Mix one part orchid bark or perlite into two parts quality potting mix, in a pot with generous drainage holes. Water once the mix feels dry a knuckle deep, then let the pot drain completely; a saucer left full of water is the commonest way to rot the roots.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eWeeping, upright or wide\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor a garden bed in filtered shade rather than a raised spot, \u003ca href=\"\/products\/medinilla-myriantha\"\u003eMedinilla myriantha\u003c\/a\u003e is the steadier, more upright shrub for planting in the ground. \u003ca href=\"\/products\/medinilla-scortechinii\"\u003eMedinilla scortechinii\u003c\/a\u003e grows wider and bushier, with coral to orange flowers. Pendula belongs where its flowers can hang at eye level, and the \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/tropical-plants\"\u003eTropical Plants\u003c\/a\u003e collection has companions that suit the same shaded, humid conditions.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eKeeping the arching line\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eFeed little and often rather than heavily: a weak liquid feed with every second watering while it is in growth, then nothing over winter. After flowering, shorten only the stems that have grown too long or crossed, cutting back to a side shoot that already points outward; shearing the whole plant removes the arching outline that is the point of it. Turn the pot a quarter every few weeks so the stems fall evenly instead of all leaning towards the light. In dry indoor air, spider mite is the pest to watch, showing as a fine pale stipple on the leaves with webbing beneath; mist the foliage and rinse the undersides, and wipe the broad leaves now and then so dust does not dull them. A pendula that is happy will keep its lower stems clothed in leaf right down to the rim of the pot, and a bare, leggy base is usually the first sign it wants more light or more humidity.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 class=\"pd-size-guidance\"\u003eChoosing a size\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis plant is supplied in one size, 300mm, at $109.00 per plant. The size shown is the pot it arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/when-to-plant-trees-and-shrubs-australia\"\u003ewhen to plant in Australia\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Plant Drop","offers":[{"title":"300mm","offer_id":67671262560625,"sku":null,"price":109.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/1049\/6113\/files\/medinilla-pendula.jpg?v=1791519665","url":"https:\/\/plantdrop.com.au\/products\/medinilla-pendula","provider":"Plant Drop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}