Cobaea - Cup And Saucer Vine

(Co'baea)

DESCRIPTION: This is a rapidly growing, perennial climber from Mexico. This ornamental plant grows up to 20 feet high and has woody stems clothed with pinnate leaves. It bears large, bell-shaped, purplish flowers from May to October or November. There is a white variety, alba, and one with variegated leaves, variegata. This plant is great for large greenhouses and conservatories. It is a pretty covering for buildings, trellises, balconies, etc. It can be planted outside where climates are mild.

POTTING: This plant will thrive in regular garden soil outside or in pots or boxes filled with loam and leaf mold with a bit of sand in the greenhouse. When grown in a greenhouse, they should have the side shoots pinches back to two buds and all weak growth removed in February or early March.

PROPAGATION: Seeds can be sown thinly in pots of light soil in a warm greenhouse having a temperature of 50-55 degrees in February or March, or in a frame in April. Plant the young plants in 4-inch pots and plant out in May or June or they can be transplanted into larger containers for the greenhouse. Where climates are mild, they can be sown directly outside in the spring. It is wise to plant the flat seeds vertically (on edge) in the soil rather than down flat. The first method tends to reduce the danger of the seeds rotting in the ground.

VARIETIES: C. scandens and varieties alba and variegata.

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