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In recent years, climbing or hanging plants have become especially popular among flower growers and summer residents. Considering the fact that they can be used in open ground in flowerbeds to create vertical compositions, in tall containers, in hanging flowerpots, and for decorating the balconies of city apartments, it is not surprising that more and more people are interested in such flowers. In addition, the choice among them is not so great compared to ordinary herbaceous or shrub flowers.
One of the typical representatives of the liana kingdom is thunbergia, a flower with a rather exotic appearance. Despite the fact that its inflorescences look rustic, their colors captivate with their brightness and richness of colors.
Thunbergia is native to the tropical regions of Africa and Asia - therefore the plant is very thermophilic. On the other hand, its big advantage is the fact that it gets along well in normal indoor conditions, so it can be brought into the house before the onset of cold weather, and if the appropriate conditions are created, thunbergia can delight you with its flowering all winter long.
After all, growing thunbergia from seeds does not require any special knowledge or conditions. She does not, like many other sissies, require warm conditions in the winter; she will be quite content with normal room temperature. But for it to bloom, it will need additional lighting and a fairly spacious pot. But even if you cannot please her, and she refuses to bloom in winter, thunbergia will also look interesting as a small indoor vine.
Varieties of thunbergia and their description
Thunbergia is a perennial flower from the Acanthaceae family. Its name was given in honor of the Swedish natural scientist Carl Thunberg, who studied plants and animals in South Africa in the 18th century. The genus is quite extensive, and up to 200 species of this exotic flower can be found in the wild. But most often only a few species are found in culture.
Multi-flowered or blue, or grandiflora (T. Grandiflora)
The homeland is India. The plant is quite powerful, wide-oval bright green leaves reach a length of 18-20 cm, with pubescence on the underside. It climbs actively and can reach a length of 7-8 meters. Flowers of a blue or purple hue with a white center are collected in racemes. Their size can be up to 8-9 cm in diameter.
Fragrant (T. fragnans)
This flower is native to Southeast Asia and Australia. It is an evergreen vine growing up to 6 meters. The ovate-shaped leaves are dark green on top and light with a white streak at the center below. Single white flowers up to 5 cm in diameter have a pleasant aroma.
Mysore or Mizoren (T. Mysorensis)
This species of thunbergia also comes from India. Outwardly, it looks very exotic and resembles more of an orchid than a thunbergia. The shoots can reach a height of 5-6 meters, the leaves are elongated-lanceolate. Flowers of amazing shape in warm colors hang on long racemes, sometimes 50 cm in length.
Winged (T. alata)
This type of thunbergia is not only the most famous and widespread, but also practically the only one that is widely grown in Russia and in most European countries. It is popularly called Black-Eyed Suzanne for its characteristic eye-shaped black centers of the inflorescences. Although there are varieties without eyes, they look no less attractive.
The stem is ribbed, highly branched, the leaves are triangular-heart-shaped, pubescent below. Single flowers of medium size (up to 4 cm) are most often orange, yellow, beige, and sometimes pinkish and salmon. The species has been known in culture since 1823.
Typically, in the open ground of the middle zone, shoots grow no more than two meters in length. And in indoor conditions, it most likely will not have enough lighting. Therefore, you can see thunbergia in all its glory in our latitudes only in greenhouses or winter gardens.
Use of the flower
Among the annual vines, thunbergia looks the most impressive - after all, its cheerful eye-shaped flowers can have a positive effect on your mood throughout the summer.In the garden, thunbergia can be sown with seeds or planted as seedlings at the base of walls, various kinds of fences or decorative trellises. In this case, the shoots, clinging to the supports, will be able to grow upward, beautifully twining around the pillars. Thus, you can not only enliven certain corners of the garden or yard, but also disguise unsightly sections of a fence or wall.
Thunbergia, in combination with others climbing annuals, can perfectly enliven a garden gazebo or serve to create a green flowering wall that will separate a cozy corner for relaxation on your site.
It is also good to plant thunbergia along the southern or western wall of the greenhouse to shade greenhouse plants from the sun.
In general, the appearance of thunbergia will greatly depend on the type of support you choose for it. If you put it on a grid, you can get a low wall; if it is a single stick, then a fountain of flowering stems will hang from above. Pyramids that taper or, conversely, expand upward will look most impressive.
You can also let it curl along the southern side of conifers or shrubs that have faded in spring.
If you plant several thunbergia plants near an alpine hill, then it will be able to spread over the surface of stones and boulders and decorate their gray bases in sunny tones. The same effect can be achieved by planting thunbergia simply in flower beds with small supports diverging upward. In this case, some of the stems will be able to creep upward, while others will decorate the surface of the flowerbed with bright multi-colored flowers against the backdrop of abundant green foliage.Thunbergia can also serve as an excellent frame for a lawn if it is planted along the edge in a row at a distance of 40-50 cm from each other.
But thunbergia will look most impressive in vertical flowerpots, or hanging flowerpots and baskets, when its shoots will beautifully flow down, creating a waterfall of flowers and greenery.
Growing from seeds
Winged Thunbergia propagates quite easily using seeds. Most often, the seedling method is used to grow it from seeds, although in southern regions with early and warm spring you can try sowing it directly into the ground. Most of the most popular varieties of thunbergia bloom approximately 3 -3.5 months after germination. Therefore, when sowing seeds in open ground, you will only be able to see the Black-Eyed Susanna in bloom at the end of summer. After all, this flower, being from the tropics, does not tolerate frost, which means it can only be sown at the end of May, and even then under temporary shelters.
When to plant seedlings
The timing of planting thunbergia seedlings depends on when you can plant it in open ground. But the sooner you do this, the
- the plant will have time to develop more powerful shoots during the summer season;
- you will be able to observe its flowering faster;
- the flowering itself will be more abundant;
- more seeds will be able to set on plants.
Typically, thunbergia seeds are planted for seedlings from February to April.
It is interesting that you can sow thunbergia seeds even in August and keep them indoors all winter, although for this it is necessary to provide it with additional lighting for the winter period. But if you plant thunbergia plants grown in this way in the ground at the very beginning of June, they will amaze you with their growth, as well as early and abundant flowering.
In the same way, you can dig up and save summer-blooming plants for the winter, after cutting off the shoots at a level of 10-15 cm from the ground.
Sowing seeds
The photo below shows how large the thunbergia seeds are (their diameter is 3-4 mm), so they are relatively easy to sow.
Before sowing, it is advisable to soak the seeds for 6-12 hours in a solution of stimulants: Humates, Epine, Zircon.
The substrate for sowing needs to be non-acidic, light and breathable, but retaining moisture well. You can take:
- A mixture of equal amounts of humus, leaf soil and sand.
- Add about 1/10 volume of vermiculite to any soil for seedlings.
You can grow thunbergia seeds both in common medium-sized bowls and in individual cups. Young plants tolerate picking and replanting well, so the method of cultivation depends on the amount of space that you can allocate to thunbergia seedlings and the time that you want to spend on replanting them. If you have little space but a lot of time, then it is better to initially sow thunbergia seeds in a common container in order to transplant the sprouts into separate pots when three or four leaves develop.
In the video below you can see the process of sowing thunbergia seeds for seedlings in detail.
If you have problems with time, but have enough space, then it is better to sow the soaked seeds immediately in separate cups, so as not to bother with transplanting seedlings in the future.
The seeds should not be deeply buried in the ground; you can only sprinkle them with loose soil, a layer no more than 0.5 cm thick. Thunbergia seeds do not need light for germination, and it is advisable to maintain the temperature around +22°+24°C. Under these conditions and constant maintenance of humidity, seedlings should appear in 6 to 14 days. When the first sprouts appear, thunbergia seedlings are placed under additional lighting, and it is advisable to lower the temperature slightly to +18°+20°C.
Seedling care
If you planted thunbergia seeds in a common container, then when 3-4 leaves form, it is advisable to plant the plants in separate pots. A few days after transplantation, feed with complex mineral fertilizer diluted in a small proportion (approximately 70-80 mg per 1 liter of water).
An important procedure during this period will be pinching the main stem above 3-4 leaves for good branching of thunbergia. It is also better to immediately place separate supports to avoid tangling of the stems even before planting the seedlings outside. Before planting, thunbergia seedlings must be hardened off, gradually accustoming the plants to temperatures of +10°+12°C.
Otherwise, the seedlings do not need anything else except an abundance of light, without which they will not be able to fully develop.
When sowing thunbergia seeds at the end of February, you can plant the seedlings in flower beds outside at the end of May - beginning of June and the buds will already open.
Growing thunbergia only requires abundant watering, especially in hot summer conditions, and periodic feeding. Otherwise, the plant is very unpretentious and will delight you with its abundant and colorful flowering.
If you want to collect your seeds from thunbergia in order to grow flowers next season, then watch the plants. In place of faded flowers, seed pods will soon form, which must be collected before they open and fall to the ground. In this case, collecting them will be almost impossible. The collected seed pods are dried, the seeds are removed and stored in a cool, dry place.
The seeds remain viable for about two years and, as practice shows, thunbergia seeds collected with one’s own hands germinate much better and faster than those bought in a store.
Conclusion
Thunbergia is a very interesting and spectacular flowering vine that will not only help you decorate your area in the summer, but if you wish, you can save it to decorate your rooms in the winter. At the same time, it is easily propagated by both seeds and cuttings.
