Tropaeolum speciosum

nice is it in the garden or pot

looks great Amy ... is this early ?

Oh My, Amy, Flowering now. I bought one a month ago at an Open Garden Day, it has already scrambled up about 5ft. It would be great if it flowered this year. I put 1/2 a bag of ericaceous compost in the planting hole so it would appreciate me.

Very special and such a striking colour.

Yes Brian its in a garden pot nothing like as magnificent as yours but I'm pleased with it ,I don't know Gg I'm not at all sure when it should flower sorry ,fingers crossed for yours Waddy I've had this approx 4 years it didn't flower at all last year I moved it into a sunnier spot this year it seems to have done the trick its much better for it .... Thanks Chris ...

Oh, I wish you hadn't said yours didn't flower in the shade, cause that's where I've put mine.

Oh Sorry Sue , I can't say for sure its the reason why but its blooming brilliantly where as it didn't before ,its now in full sun in fact the hottest place it could be ,its beginning to grow up the Gold Heart Ivy which its attached its self to .. ...

Fabulous colour Amy....

Sunny places in my garden equate to very dry soil.

Thanks Angela, is yours planted in the ground Sue ,? mines in a big pot ....

Hi Amy

do you give the pot protection from frost etc over the winter ?

In the ground Amy, it was tiny when I bought it, now it is up to the gutter of the conservatory, and I am watering if the area seems dry with only rain water. Fingers crossed.

It was left outside Gg the only protection was a sheet of fleece wrapped round it ,well its growing very well for you Sue you are obviously treating it right , the flowers will come if not in the first year you will have something exciting to look forward to next year ...

Description (copied from Wikipedia)

"It is a hardy herbaceous/tuberous perennial with a wiry stem that grows up to 3 metres (9.8 ft) tall. It climbs through or over other plants to a sunlit position where it flowers profusely. The leaves are palmately lobed with five to seven obovate leaflets. The scarlet, funnel-shaped flowers are spurred and grow on long stalks from the leaf axils. They have widely separated, clawed petals. After the flowers fade, the red calyces persist, curling back to reveal the three blue berries.[2][3]"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropaeolum_speciosum

It appears it prefers an acid soil &, like Clematis, likes to have it's feet in the shade & its head in the sun.

Thanks for that David ,some very useful information :o)

So I won't see the flowers on top of the conservatory roof then! Only 6" to reach the sun.

4th April 2017... Has your Tropaeolum started into growth yet, Amy?

Do you know what Sue I've looked at it everyday this week including this morning as I could see a nice new growth appearing ,guess what OH moved the pot slightly to make room for another pot of Morning Glory today ,the next time I looked the shoot had gone ,he swears he didn't touch it but I'm guessing he thought it was a weed .. he wouldn't admit it though Grrrrr ... has yours started ?

Thank you for your information, Amy. Mine is not showing, that was why I wondered if yours was growing. Mine is in the ground in a very shady position, sounds like yours is in a pot. Time for us both still, hopefully. It was super at the end of last season, the first year.

Yes I have mine in a large pot with canes in a kind of wigwam to guide the plant up to the ivy on the shed wall it then takes itself off and up with the ivy as support ..

April 11th, nothing yet, but the Corydalis at its feet has similar shaped leaves, so maybe it is lurking. I will put in a tall cane to see if this growth starts twinning, plus some slug pellets. The Hostas in the same border are only just poking through.

Nothing here yet either Sue , maybe it was a weed my OH pulled out last week !!!

Amy, 15th April 2017 just seen 2 of the tiniest shoots emerging, no more than 5cm, darker green than the Corydalis and at the edge of where I thought the centre of the plant was. Put down slug pellets.

That's brilliant news Sue ,I'll be out in the garden with a magnifying glass tomorrow Lol ...

Hope you find yours Amy. This week lots of shade lovers have put a shoot or two through the soil.

Still nothing here Sue ,I'm not going to look for at least another week its to disappointing :o(