DOUG CALDWELL

Note the unfurling musical note-shaped flower of Clerodendrum incisum ‘Macrosiphon,’ which opens up at the tip to resemble a small, white butterfly.

DOUG CALDWELL

This small broad spreading shrub lost a load of flowers in the rain, but a new crop will reappear every three to four weeks in the summer.

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Clerodendrum incisum 'Macrosiphon,' sometimes referred to as "musical note," strikes a winning chord in the small-shrub orchestra. This plant is not one of the well-known species in the large clerodendrum group. And unusual for a clerodendrum, it makes my "short shrub" list at 3 to 5 feet tall and four to five feet wide. It needs little pruning. This is a repeat bloomer and produces flowers almost monthly, if left unsheared.

As with many of the clerodendrum species, the flower has outrageously long stamens that add to the delicate interest as they extend outward about 1.5 inches beyond the flower’s merged petals or corolla. The four-inch-long, trumpet-shaped blossom expands amazingly from a little nubbin and briefly resembles a soprano-range eighth note. As the flower stretches, the club portion or end of the “note” splits and flattens into a corolla resembling a small white butterfly.

The flower clusters start in a series of about five to 10 buds and with several buds on a twig tip; this plant puts on a “wow” show! Watching these flowers develop is much like watching — in slow motion — the uncoiling of a butterfly proboscis or one of those curly party favors people blow and toot to annoy others at New Year’s events.

Unfortunately, the flowers, which don’t have a fragrance, are short-lived, maybe lasting for two days. If it rains, they tend to drop and it looks like a drift of snow beneath the plant. My plants start flowering around the Fourth of July and have repeating bursts on a monthly basis into November or so.

The lanceolate leaves don’t get a high rating as they are a dull green. They range from two to four inches long, are variable in shape: some have smooth entire margins, other leaves have scattered one-eighth to three-eighths inch long, seemingly random serrations.

Maybe because the two shrubs I have are in mostly sandy soil, they lose their leaves during the winter and look absolutely ugly. This species does better in semi-shade; avoid full sun exposure. I persuaded Michelle Rowland, landscape superintendent at Grey Oaks, to try this plant. There is a planting to the right of the pool entry area. Those plants don’t defoliate in the winter. I imagine there is some potting mix in that bed that improves the situation.

I label this species semi-deciduous; defoliation is variable depending on how much stress and cold it is exposed to. Rowland gets favorable remarks about the plant. Their plants are cut back moderately in March-April or so and they quickly fill in. One maintenance issue is that the flower petals don’t drop completely, so cleaning the old petals off the shrub is something to expect. The maintenance folks at Grey Oaks do some light touch-up pruning during the summer as the plants become a little floppy.

Michelle remarked that “musical note” tolerates dry spells once it is established. If sooty mold develops, look for aphid infestations on the new growth and use a horticultural soap or contact insecticide labeled for landscape plant use.

Try adding this intriguing plant from Nigeria to your shrub bed areas, but you may not want to place it in the front row, in case it drops its leaves during the winter. This unique flowering plant is a real attention getter. Also visit this Web site for lots of pictures and information on tropical flowering plants, including this one:

toptropicals.com/cgi-bin/garden_catalog/cat.cgi

Doug Caldwell, Ph.D., is the commercial landscape horticulture extension agent and landscape entomologist with the University of Florida Collier County Extension Service. E-mail dougbug@ufl.edu; phone, 353-4244, ext. 203. Extension Service Web site: collier.ifas.ufl.edu.