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Any tips for growing Thunbergia alata?

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  • RM98RM98 Posts: 43
    punkdoc said:
    I am sure you know this, but they are not hardy, so they will need replacing each year.
    Thanks for this, I did read that they’re not hardy. I figured that if they grow as fast as they do, and the fact that I probably only need a couple of plants for the size of container I’ll be growing them in, it will be fine to replace them each year. It means I can change the colour from one year to the next two which appeals to me!
  • PlantmindedPlantminded Posts: 3,580
    Some more information for you: https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/thunbergia/growing-guide

    I’ll be growing mine from seed this year but don’t plan to start them off until April, as any earlier showings of seed for me, such as sweet peas, have resulted in weak, etiolated seedlings which don’t fare well.  Depending on the weather, I might wait until later and sow them directly outside, or do both to hedge my bets!
    Wirral. Sandy, free draining soil.


  • Bee witchedBee witched Posts: 1,295
    That colour is fabulous @Fire.  Can you recall the name?
    Thanks,
    Bee x
    Gardener and beekeeper in beautiful Scottish Borders  

    A single bee creates just one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    edited 12 January
    That colour is fabulous @Fire.  Can you recall the name?

    I was trying to recall. I buy most things online, but this I must have bought as a plug in an (excellent) Enfield nursery (my memory really is shocking). I suspect it is T.  Brownie, but there are lots of other proper reds out there. 

    The advantage for me of buying online is that I have a full record of every plant I have bought that way - so - most plants in the garden. I don't have a car or live near a nursery or GC, so online shopping is a lifeline.

    T. Arizona is a strong red; Brownie has more chocolate in it.

    You can increase stock of this plant by taking cuttings through the season.

    Some neighbours grow the orange and yellow types on the street and they do stop me in my tracks - the blooms are so like a young child's drawing of a flower. I find it uncanny and entirely charming. The yellows and oranges perhaps stand out more against the foliage than the reds.

    As an annual, they will love you for some weekly feed (I find). Tom feed or the like. It makes such a difference to the level of blooming.



  • Bee witchedBee witched Posts: 1,295
    Thanks for this @Fire

    I've got an 8ft rusted metal obelisk and have golden hops growing over it. They are in a couple of pots sunk into the soil so they don't escape into the rest of the border!

    This year I fancy adding a couple of thunbergia to romp over and through the hops, and think the dark flowers could look fabulous. That 'Arizona' one looks great.

    Thanks for the tip about feeding.

    Bee x 
    Gardener and beekeeper in beautiful Scottish Borders  

    A single bee creates just one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime
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