Paluma’s ‘Purple Haze’ – Tibouchina ‘Chameleon’
This website features numerous photographs of the many varieties of flowering Tibouchina’s which thrive in the cool mountain climate at Paluma. Most gardens have at least one of these beautiful plants which burst into bloom a couple of times a year, usually in the warmer months.
The ‘Chameleon’ variety is at its flowering best at present and there is a spectacular specimen catching everyone’s eye at No. 16 Mount Spec Road. The large shrub is a blaze of colour with hundreds of flowers and many buds still to open, ensuring a long flowering period of two weeks or more. Many locals and visitors have stopped to admire and photograph this flowering gem over the past week. You just can’t miss it, as it can be seen from a considerable distance along Mount Spec Road.
Tibouchina ‘Chameleon’ is so-named because the flowers change colour as they mature. The flowers open as pure white and then ‘ripen’ to varying shades of purple, mauve and pink. The effect is that the plant will have a mix of flower shades at the one time- an amazing ‘Purple Haze’.
Other flowering Tibouchina’s are located at No. 40 and No. 52 Mount Spec Road. Take a walk through the misty village of Paluma and check out the ‘Purple Haze’. When Jimi Hendrix penned his famous song, he was surely inspired by a Tibouchina Chameleon!
Text & Photos by Michele Bird
Hi we are in Prague at present and great to see our tree is flowering beautifully 😀😀