Tropaeolum 2015

[Jean-Patrick AGIER]

I can't resist in posting ( again ) some pictures of my tropaeolum sessilifolium.
This plant grows and flowers reliably in a container on my balcony.
It mingles with other Andean species which unfortunately don't find the optimum conditions for blooming.
JP

[Jean-Patrick AGIER]

...some more pictures of tropaeolum sessilifolium
JP

[Maggi Young]

Such a pretty thing, Jean-Patrick, who could resist more photos?

[Jean-Patrick AGIER]

Thank you Maggi!
So here are some more...
JP

[Maggi Young]

It's fun when I  realise how much one flower reminds me of another I've just seen in the pages of the forum..... this happened with Robert's pictures of  Mimulus aurantiacus var. grandiflorus in his thread from California .... follow the link ...
http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=12636.msg333780#msg333780  to see if you agree with me that there is a similarity!

[Steven McFarlane]

Hi

I thought that you might like to see a couple of pictures of T. leptophyllum which has just come into flower.  This came from a tuber I bought from Rareplants last autumn.

Steven

[Steven McFarlane]

Hello again

I thought I would post pictures of a hybrid that is still in flower.

Yes I did say "a" hybrid.  The rose colour fades to the lilac.

Rather pretty and quite interesting.

Steven

[Maggi Young]

I'm very taken with the colour of Trop.  leptophyllum    - and the changing shades of your hybrid are very pretty - I'd have been less surprised if the change had gone from lilac to rose! 

[Jean-Patrick AGIER]

Hi,
Tropaeolum polyphyllum doesn't do well on my balcony...
The plant at Lyon BG has been re-established in the alpine garden after its South American part have been dismantled.
A lot of pouzzolane have been added and the plant seemed to like it.
This species is absolutely stunning!
JP

[fermi de Sousa]

Hi Jean-Patrick,
Pouzzolane appears to be some sort of scoria or other volcanic material - was it dug in or just used on the surface of the bed? The Tropaeolum seems to be enjoying it!
cheers
fermi

[Jupiter]

I'm certain my T. polyphyllum would have flowered for the first time last year but a bird or a possum nipped off the shoot as it was expanding. I was furious. This year it has an aviary wire cage over it.    Your pictures are beautiful JP.

[Maggi Young]

The Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh posted these photos  on facebook of Tropaeolum polyphyllum expanding over the Rock Garden in RBGE - it looks to have ambitions to take over Edinburgh!

 First, a close-up of the golden flowers


and here is some of the spread!

[Jean-Patrick AGIER]

Hi Jean-Patrick,
Pouzzolane appears to be some sort of scoria or other volcanic material - was it dug in or just used on the surface of the bed? The Tropaeolum seems to be enjoying it!
cheers
fermi

Fermi,
Yes pouzzolane has been added to the new soil of the alpine garden ( medium sized ).

The Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh posted these photos  on facebook of Tropaeolum polyphyllum expanding over the Rock Garden in RBGE - it looks to have ambitions to take over Edinburgh!

 First, a close-up of the golden flowers
(Attachment Link)

and here is some of the spread!
(Attachment Link)

Maggi,
This picture is really fantastic!!!

[Jupiter]

Maggi that's fantastic! I would love to see that in person.

[Maggi Young]

Derry Watkins has  made a facebook post about  T. polyphyllum - I quote it here and give the link to her website for the seeds :

"Tropaeolum polyphyllum is an exquisitely beautiful hardy perennial Nasturtium from Chile. The pale blue grey leaves meticulously arranged all along long trailing stems make it worth growing for foliage alone. Pretty lemon yellow flowers erupt from the tip of each stem in June and July. By August it has become dormant and you will see no more of it until next April. It is very rarely offered for sale but has taken over about a square meter of my gravel garden

For years I tried to collect the seeds of it. I could see them form (they look like overgrown green peas) but they seemed to disappear before they ripened. Then last summer I noticed that ordinary Nasturtium seeds fall off while still green and dry on the ground into the dry hard nasturtium seeds we know. So i tried sowing the big green Tropaeolum polyphyllum seeds and lo and behold they germinated a few months later

The internet says to sow it in spring from fresh seed, but as it sets seed in July that seems an utter impossibility. Really fresh seed seems to germinate fairly quickly. According to the internet, older seed which has dried will need vernalization , that is a damp cold period, possibly quite prolonged, sometimes up to 2 years if left outside to the vagaries of the weather.

When the seed does germinate, grow them in deep pots. The tubers like to pull themselves down very deep, so it is best to plant the tuber after it goes dormant in midsummer and you can bury it a foot or so down. It will eventually pull itself down 2 or 3 feet!. It needs very good drainage and plenty of sun. Once it is happy it is perfectly hardy and can become rampant, but as both the leavers and flowers are beautiful it is not a problem

And i now have nice fat green seeds for sale!"

http://www.specialplants.net/shop/seeds/tropaeolum_polyphyllum/