The one-year vine eff as the Cup and Saucer vine is beloved by many gardeners . Their large , cup - regulate over-embellished or white flower and their distinctive flaring corollas look very much like teacups . Many of us never really think about that , like . Like so many conversant garden heyday , the Cup and Saucer Vine or Cobaea scandens belong to a much bigger clan – it has many close congeneric within the genus CObaea , all aboriginal to South and Central America . However , most if not all are still relatively nameless or even discovered . I decide to do a deep dive on the genus cobaea ( or at least as deep as I could grow a few of the more hard - to - see mintage ) . My real goal here is to solve many people ’s problems when trying to grow Cup and Saucer Vines . If you ’ve even had trouble with germinating or sustain plants to flower , then mayhap you ’ll find some bits of information here useful .
You recognize me – I like to ask the obvious query first . For example : Why does well-nigh every garden author repeat the directive : ‘ Sow cup and saucer vine seeds vertically . Go ahead , google “ how to sow in loving cup and saucer vines ” and see . I suppose there might be a good grounds , but honestly ( and botanically ) , I ca n’t opine why , as no plant scientist nor compeer - reviewed journal of Botany seems to be able to back it up . seed do n’t land vertically on the soil in nature .
Oh , and while you ’re stag around for advice , you may also notice that there is a wide range of suggested depths that one should plant the source range from surface sown ( because some writer once wrote that the seed need light to germinate ) or 1/2 column inch deep in total dark . Which method is right ?
Now , before I plow all of that , a few fact to get out of the way .
Cobaea scandens ( the rough-cut Cut and Saucer vine ) is n’t actually an yearbook at all ; it ’s believe a tender perennial ( but tropical ) . Just a fun fact , really , as this should n’t alter how most of us grow it .
This is one of those tropicals that just must be grown as an one-year in dusty climates , but it should serve as a warning to those in lovesome - wintertime clime where the industrial plant is a well - known invasive . As with any vine , plant with caution – stand back , they fly the coop .
Cobaea scandens is n’t even new , though some might think that it is . You might call it an heirloom because it was once more common than now , though a new gardening generation is rediscovering it . Like the ones I am express here , other species are rare , if not impossible to see – yet . I am just sharing some to show folks that there is diversity in the tribe , and maybe some plant life stock breeder will do some body of work with the genus .
Cup and Saucer Vines are promptly - grow when started from seminal fluid , and while some may show that they call for the little days of late summer or Autumn to bloom , this is n’t true . Cobaea is considered to be ‘ day - inert plants – and unlike their neighbors that also grow in primal America ( morning glories , zinnia these are plants that do n’t answer to a unretentive photoperiod . Cobaea must be mature enough to bloom . As such , must produce a sure act of leaves during a period of summertime with gamey ultraviolet light ( as in Central America ) . Thus it is think that light intensiveness and maturity stimulated plants to flower .
Some gardeners believe that they can trick the plants into blooming earlier in the summer by starting in the beginning ( and perhaps they could if the vines are allowed to develop long enough under unassailable , full - spectrum lights ) but who like the room ? For a 20 - metrical unit vine indoors ? ) . Generally , cobaea will flower naturally near late summer , anywhere between mid - August through September until frost . In fact , come sow in in February and seed sown in late May bloom around the same calendar week in September for me in Massachusetts .
On PinchingAnother myth exist around pinching plant trying to make the works limb or remain a manageable size . Pinching is n’t necessary at any degree as it ’s a in earnest vigorous vine even if leave alone . It will branch multiple time left to its own machine . Some gardener feel that they can train cobaea to a short 6 - foot tipi by doing this , but plants will most likely suffer from such restricted discourse , resulting in yellow foliage and few blooms . It ’s simply not a trainable flora . Cobaea require height and room , and plenty of both if it is to grow well .
I believe the lift advice began when people start up sowing source too early indoors , soon discovering that plant quickly became unruly . pinch is fine , but again , only if necessary . I ’d say that if you take to squeeze your works before setting out of doors than you plausibly sow your cum far too early .
I would advise pinching plants once you set them into the territory outside where they grow , though . This will serve energize lower subdivision which might be ready to hand if you are trying to cover a fence or a low , recollective bodily structure . bed that cobaea ’s innate substance abuse to want to grow up and over something big ( like a tree or over a brushy cliff ) . It wants to produce 12 - 15 groundwork long stems before it forms flush bud . I seldom pinch our plants as they grow on 1″ diameter black mesh that is stapled to our porches which sit on a 4 - foot origination . Our vines must first grow up 7 - 8 foot before they are expect to branch , which they have no trouble doing in speedy social club all summer .
Can I develop Cobaea in Pots?Safe to say that Cup and Saucer Vine is not a good candidate for most containers . I Can turn well in a large bath readiness at the corner of a inflexible arbor , but it ’s far too vigorous for a low passel or even for a windowpane box . Believe me , we ’ve strain , and not only did our abject story windows become enshroud by mid - summer , so too did our second - story windows .
I have heard of some nurseryman attempting to grow Cup and Saucer fines on a teepee – on bamboo canes , but I ca n’t suppose them having much success . I may have to try it ( I grow mess of annual vine on tepee , and while most become too demented by late summer , I can get some blooms ) . Still , with cobaea , I would imagine that there would be few bloom and that the volume of foliage and leave would be too much for the full anatomical structure .
Rare SpeciesI obtained some seeds of newly chance on and rare metal money of Cobaea a couple of years ago . My favorite species to raise so far was Cobaea campanulata which had beautiful unslaked lime light-green flowers smaller than C. scandens but had longer stems . The best feature with this metal money , though , was the seed pod that looked like torpedos and were very ornamental as they hung straight down with their weight , like Christmas ornament . The foliage , though , was far too rearing – it really intimately direct over our house on two and a half floor in just one summertime . It shut in window and even encased a screen door on the deck , locking us in .
I also grew a newly discovered mintage C. pringlei , but it only produced a handful of blooms that looked like blanched , waxy rendering of C. scandens . I had a seed of C. paneroi , another new mintage , but it only produces a couple of flush , yet plenty of foliage that seemed to take over our theater ( and it ’s a big house ! ) .
The genus cobaea is much larger than you might reckon , with 18 species at least , but the most common if not the only metal money you will find is C. scandens – the traditional Cup and Saucer Vine . It does come in an all - white variety ( alba ) and the more traditional royal one . have a go at it that all C. scandens begin green , then lily-white , and then turn violet as well , as the bloom age .
How to develop Cup and Saucer VinesStart with knowing where you are going to plant your cup and saucer vine . As the most vigorous of any annual vine sell as cum in packets , never underestimate their sizing . dawn resplendence are a close second , but if afford a race , a cobaea will always win and take over even the most rambunctious sunup glorification . conceive me ; we ’ve raced them on our gourd tunnel .
call back that they are a tendril - producing vine ( like grapes ) and not a vine that twines ( wraps around ) a column , cobaea grow more like sweet peas , producing slender , twisty tendril that only wrap around flimsy materials such as twigs or netting . As such , you may call for to tie stems to thicker pieces of Grant Wood if , for example , you are stress to train them up a post to a treillage . Once they get in touch with the top of their construction ( like a trellis ) , , they will mature madly entwining in and out of each other .
novel gardeners often name this fact when they endeavor to develop cobaea in a kitty thought process – permit ’s say with three bamboo cane in it . Unless your cane are 8 foot tall or more , you are more likely to terminate up with a hot muss . They really need a wire or credit card interlocking wrapped over a very tall structure or against a fence or wall . We staple fatal plastic 1″ diameter meshing onto our 16′ high porches , which looks dreadful in early leaping , but they become wholly covered with loving cup and saucer vines by August and then flowers in September .
Can I grow Cobaea indoors?In a nursery , yes . In your house ? No . You might be able to overwinter over a plant you have dig up in a cold cellar windowpane , but cobaea is n’t a works for the indoors .
Wintering Over VinesIn the 19th , vine grown on some of the bounteous East coast estates were often cut back near a hard freeze in late October , and their pate dug up , potted , and land into a cool greenhouse for the wintertime . Savvy gardeners also inseminate source in early summer flat into the grime of a conservatory where vine would bloom effortlessly until the New Year ( such as at the Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum in Boston ) .
Raising Cobaea from SeedCobaea is generally seminal fluid - raised , but there are many moment of misinformation out there about cum , starting when it comes to Cup and Saucer Vines . Much is it is myth or traditional knowledge , and the truth is tell apart , Cobaea semen will germinate just fine if it is tonic ( collected and salt away properly from the previous year ) and if the seed is sown just under the surface of the land , kept warm near 70 and lightly moist . No - bother really . That means no soaking , no wrapping seed in a polybag of medium and refrigerate it , no chipping the seed , and no special way to set it into the soil . Those are ‘ tips ’ that are unneeded steps .
What about sowing seed vertically , again ? Why do I keep insure this ?
I do n’t know where it start , but I guess this is just one of those tales passed along from garden books to garden writers over meter . It appear near everywhere , though , so it may have start in the late 19th century as I find a source in an old 1878 seed catalog paint a picture it . If anything , early school text suggest that the seed can rot , but then nursery were kept much cool than sprouting sleeping accommodation are today ( commonly under warm luminousness indoors ) .
The bigger question I call for other botanist friends was , does seed preference thing ? It does for very few plants ( like coconuts , for example , or lychee fruit , but any benefit from setting flat , papery cobaea seeds on their sides only present me furrowed eyebrows and a clear “ It does n’t matter . ” .
Some household gardener like to pre - dowse or pre - germinate many heavy seeds like pea , beans , and morning glories . While it will facilitate a seed coat soak up H2O and start the sprouting process a day or two earlier , it ’s always considered risky as you could and will damage the tine root hair on the radicle , and away from the task being playfulness or seeming like a science project , few if plant scientist would urge it .
What about grunge depth for Germination ? OR light?I’m often asked this : “ Do n’t Cobaea seed need light to bourgeon ? ” No , they do n’t . In fact , some commercial-grade grower advocate sowing seed three time the profoundness of the seed , while others suggest 1/16″ deep . Others propose that the seed involve to be half - buried in the soil . Bottom wish is to sow seed 1/8 - 1/4 column inch abstruse , and you ’ll be fine .
What about those who say to pre - germinate seed in paper towels ?
Pre - germination is never consider estimable horticultural pattern . The moist newspaper publisher towel method acting might allow seeds to bourgeon a daylight or two quicker because of the consistent wet , but these same seeds would have germinate in the soil as well . Great for teach young children about seed germination , though . But use it with beans . If you have misfortunate Germination , it ’s most likely because of temperature or , more likely , ejaculate character . Your seed may be old and too teetotal .
Do Cobaea seeds need temperature strong to sprout well?Yes . At least when germinating and while growing in betimes to mid - summer . works seedlings outdoors once the soil is hot ( 60 ° F ) ( when you plant tomatoes ) or even later — no penury to rush .
Do I have to soak or file the seed first before sowing ? Or imbue seed?No . Never silicon chip ejaculate either . This is risky and not necessary with Cobaea .
Why aren’tmy seeds germinating then?It could be soil temperature ( seek to keep them tender to near 70 ° F ) , or you most likely have poor source . Seed lineament is a plebeian issue with Cobaea as so much of our ornamental seeded player come from China or India . The best way to know that you have sweet seed is to buy come from a big semen trafficker ( Burpee , Harris , Parks , etc . ) . Cobaea seed that is greater than 2 years old will have short Germination . If your source is brittle or ironic , it may be sometime . Even if I save germ and keep it in a shock in my cupboard , it becomes too teetotal to stay feasible .
Seed not germinating ? Do n’t feel forged . That said , Cobaea is just notoriously fussy to germinate as it is , so do n’t feel bad if you are getting low sprouting . The best way to see a good number of plants is to order source from reputable seed reference ( genuine seeded player catalogs ) , not eBay or Etsy or secret seed sellers – and try a few sources . As an invasive plant in many parts of the world , timeserving cum sellers might be sell sometime seeds they found in a commons . You never know . To quote my germination guidelines book : ” germination patterns are varied and complex with cobaea . It is of much value to know the exact pattern . ”As an invasive vine , I would n’t say Cobaea are not hard , but seed viability can be irregular , especially if not fresh .
What about pinch seedlings?Pinch if you involve to , but unlike sweet peas , pinching will only stimulate former ramification ( ok if you want to enshroud a little object ) , but it wo n’t cause flowers any earlier . If anything , vine may grow more vigorously if you are pinching in a pot , and you hazard causing too much growth about the size of it of your container .
Are Cup and Saucer Vines pollinated by Bats?Well , Yes , in South America they are but not in North America . Do n’t worry ; you are n’t conk to attract any fruit bat . Flies are known to pollinate them here ( they ’re stinky ) , or you could do it with a paintbrush or feathering .
What about flower colour ? Why are my purple Cup and Saucer Vines blossom with blanched or greenish flowers?Flowers on Cobaea start greenish - tweed when immature but matured to a deep purple flush , depending on sun . There is an all - white flowered selection sold simply as Cobaea scandens ‘ alba ’ . It ’s a good pick if you want all - livid blooms .
Is there anyway to get my Cup and Saucer vines to blossom earlier ?
I ’m not sure what the result is , but hit down a few more myths about this – once again , Cup and Saucer vine are not shortsighted - twenty-four hour period plants , yet they still like to flower of course in fall . It ’s complex , but the vines take to create enough foliage before they blossom , and this foliage requires high light quality with ultraviolet visible radiation , as found in India or Mexico . Remember , these are tropical perennials that we are judge to grow in a northern mood , most probable . They need to extend to a certain age before they flower , and in the north , semen - raised plant life get cash in one’s chips in later summer – it ’s just how it is .
IsCobaea winter hardy?Not below zona 9 -10 , but … they are rather cold tolerant in fall . After a hard freeze , I often have our porch covered with vines growing and blooming in October , even means past Halloween . Sure , some freezing happens but only on the leafage tips . We ’ve had vines outlast and bloom with snow on them . Still , Cobaea is not winter hardy . I ’m estimate below 26 ° degree Fahrenheit might do them in completely , at least when the ascendant freeze .
Can I save seeds from my Cup and Saucer Vines?Sure , but the challenge is receive fuel pod that have enough prison term to fully mature . I can rarely get dry , papery seed from my pod as my cobaea here in Massachuetts rarelyo bloom of youth until September 1 .
A mature pod will be ironic and papery , as the seminal fluid are wind - dispersed . It ’s probably good to buy fresh seminal fluid every year , as the few time I have been able-bodied to save dry come from other specie of Cobaea , the ejaculate dry out too much in the wintertime – I suspect that it needs to be cryovac’d or saved in a clime - control machine with the right level of moisture .
When should I pop Cobaea indoors?Late wintertime or Spring is fine . I sow my seeded player on May 1 - 15 . you’re able to try in the first place , but it is n’t essential as the plant ’ wo n’t start to rush up growth until late June once the sun is bright . As I ’ve say before , I ’ve sown Cobaea in April , May , and late June , and they all bloom at the same time no matter what . No need to festinate .
If you subsist in a tropic clime or near the equator , cobaea can be plant at most anytime . Old New England conservatory often listed Cobaea as a wintertime flora , but it seems mostly as a leafage vine ( peculiarly a vary selection ) or as a roof - shading excerpt . I know that in India , seeds of Cobaea are plant in July and August for wintertime blooms and in September for flowers in April , but I am not certain at what parallel they are speaking about . Obviously , they can produce in temperate nursery in the wintertime , but my greenhouse is too cold at 40 ° F.
In the end , cobaea or Cup and Saucer vines make for a lovely green vine even if they do n’t bloom . Yet it ’s their bloom that are so fantastic and worth the extra work upfront to get a expert ejaculate , and healthy plants start on a tidy treillage or nett .
HOW TO GROW CUP AND SAUCER VINES
begin with fresh seed
Sow in late April through May
Sow just slightly under the control surface of the soil
Keep soil at 70 ° F , indoors under lights
Plant out of doors , at least half day of sun , near a strong trellis or net after frost has retiring
Keep watered and fertilize weekly with a balances eat
anticipate flowers by previous summer
I encourage you to stress growing Cup and Saucer vines if you have n’t try yet . They are leisurely to grow once you get the source bourgeon , and by from some patience and finding the right structure for them to rise on , they provide an supernumerary boost of overbold color in late autumn and some fairly cut flowers to find fault .
