Tibouchina ‘Peace Baby’, is a gorgeous, free- flowering and compact evergreen shrub with large white flowers with spectacular pink stamens that grows up to 60 cm tall and 80 cm wide.‘Peace Baby’, is part of the ‘Fantasy Flowers’ Collection and was bred in Queensland by- Terry Keogh. The example in the image above, is currently blooming in late autumn with masses of flowers each up to 5 cm across. This particular specimen had literally up to 100 more flower buds ready to burst in succession among the plants already spectacular- full bloom. This plant has been flowering throughout the intense heat of our summer and now is thriving after the arrival of some damp and rainy conditions we recieved throughout late autumn. Tibouchinas, are native to sub-tropical Brazil, Mexico and the Carribean and are not generally tolerant of colder climates but Terry Keogh has successfully bred- these cultivars, to perform well in the subtropical and cool climate areas in Australia. His other cultivars marketed under the ‘Fantasy Flowers’ Collection are: Tibouchina ‘Groovy Baby’, which has beautiful large, vivid- purple flowers which only grows to 45cm H by 45 cm W, and Tibouchina ‘Cool Baby’, is another dwarf compact stunning performer with white and pink flowers with pink margins that adorn the plant throughout the warmer months too. Interestingly, the Tibouchinas, in the wild and in their native origin are normally pollinated by hummingbirds but Terry Keogh, has manged to replicate the vibrational frequency- to stimulate the pollens release and his method is considered a trade secret to this day. All the ‘Fantasy Flowers’ Collection are protected with (PBR) = (Plant Breeding Rights) in Australia. With all the pests and diseases about, its great to see some beautiful flowering shrubs that are hardy and grow well in our subtropical climate!