This cute as a button herbaceous perennial winter growing climber always gets a response from those that don’t know it. It is simple to grow in sun or semi-shade as long as the potato like tubers are kept dry in summer. I usually pot grow it so that it can spend the summer in the shed. It can grow to 3metres tall in a season in a large enough pot and is great growing up a deciduous shrub or vine that would be looking decidedly boring in the winter. The tubers do multiply and when you have lots extra can be planted out. I have it growing through a hedge that i prune in late spring and by then the Tropaeolum is dormant. Those that are in the know realise that this plant is a perennial in the same Genus as the common Nasturtium. I have an irrational love of the Genus and in my collection so far I have T.Azureum (blue and hard to keep), T. pentaphyllum (pink and green and easy) T. beuthii (yellow and green and only flowered for me this year so not sure how easy it is) As well as the summer growing thug T.ciliatum with its red veined yellow flowers and the summer growing aristocratic T. speciosum with its scarlet flowers. T. tricolorum is now potted (its late Feb.) and so available again at $18.50
