Cobaea scandens, the Cathedral Bells or Cup and Saucer Vine, is a perennial vine from Central and South America. It's completely carefree, and will grow 15-25 feet in one season. It's a showy climber for the cool greenhouse, and also forming a very decorative screen on trellis or south facing wall in milder areas.
The vine can reach 20 feet in length or higher and produces numerous large flowers, often 6 cm (2½ in) across. Beautiful climber with truly bell-like deep velvet-blue flowers. The unusual buds open creamy green then change to rosy-violet and finally mature to a deep purple, from late Summer to early-mid Fall. A profuse bloomer. The fruit capsule is 5.5 to 8.5 cm long, with broad seeds 10-15 mm long including the wing.
Cobaea scandens is a fast-growing, evergreen perennial climber with tendrils on its leaves. The leaf of Cobaea is compound and consists of leaflets, stipules, and tendrils. Each leaflet is oval, 4-12 cm long by 2-5 cm wide, dark green above, whitish underneath, with a brown stalk. The vines have many tendrils and cling well to rough surfaces.
Hardiness zones 9-11, (-5°C/25°F, 4°C/40°F) in Winter. Annual elsewhere. Provide a sunny growing area with a light, rich soil. Water regularly; do not overwater the soil should be moist to wet.
Label |
No |
Common name |
Cup and Saucer Vine |
Family |
No |
Genus |
No |
Species |
Cobaea scandens |
Cultivar |
No |
Therapeutic uses |
No |
Germination |
Soak the seeds for 2 hours in warm water before sowing. Sow at 18-24°C in a good seed compost. Sow the seeds on their edge and just cover with compost. Keep soil damp but not wet, sealing in a polythene bag after sowing is helpful. Germination usually takes 21-30 days. Germination can take longer, don't give up.
|
Scarification / Stratification |
No |
Use spaces to separate tags. Use single quotes (') for phrases.