Has anyone grown Tangutica Radar Love clem from seed?

Just for fun to see if I could do it, I planted tangutica seeds that I ordered from Park Seed. I started them in the house in early March and they actually germinated. I put all of the tiny little vines in a flower pot and sat it next to a Direct TV satellite dish that is no longer being used (no local channels available.) They keep growing taller and I hope it eventually covers the ugly dish. I have no idea whether I will see blooms which I understand are suppose to be small and yellow.

Have any of you had any experience with growing this from seed and, if so, should I expect blooms this year? Also, how tall will it probably grow?

BTW, beware, gardeners, when you go out after dark to check for slugs or to turn off the hose as I did last night. I almost stepped on a moccasin (sp?)snake which was enjoying the cool concrete under our shed where my faucet is located. He got away from us last night, but this a.m. I awoke to the sound of DH actually using the Stihl weed eater I bought last August. He actually killed him with the weed eater while finally cleaning up the area around his shed. Now I know how to get his attention and get things done!

sharkey, so scary. those are poisonous, right? ooooooh i crawl with fear of snakes.

radar love will be huge, mounding, small yellow flowers. needs sun and good drainage. could be a good choice to cover structure as you mention if sun and drainage are good..i have not grown from seed, but this a common one to be grown that way. not sure how long your process to a big plant will be. i grow one called golden tiara. had two, one died this winter. they are similar clems.

i have some radar love seed in the frig i bought from someone on the dg forum however. i will probably not plant them.

Yes, these snakes are highly poisonous and very common here. Guess they're just trying to find water and a place to cool off like the rest of us. But, my toddler grandbaby loves to run around in my yard and look at my flowers, so I worry about that.
This radar love clem will be fun to watch. Since I'm not worried about whether or not it flourishes, it will probably do great. I had a lot of luck planting non-tropical hibiscus seeds last yr I ordered from them. They are in their second yr and beautiful. I just happened to notice the clem seeds for sale when I was ordering this yr and tried it just as an experiment.
Did you notice the clem bloom in the photo that I HOPE is RC?

sharkey, i might have missed rc photo? where is it? love rc for sure. great clem. hate snakes. here is golden tiara, which i understand is very much like radar love.
this is the one that died, it was spilling over a retaining wall. funny thing is it sprouted life from many of the old vines this spring, i then hard pruned it and it never came back from that. luckily i have another one a few years in a different spot, but it is entwined with some tall shrubs and is blooming but i can not get a good pic of it. it is barely visible. so i may move it next spring si i can have it where folks , including me, can see it!

Wow! If mine gets this large, it may try to take over the satellite dish next to it that we're currently using. That's quite a plant. I love it. Can I assume that like other clems it is cold hardy?
In the right of the photo of radar love, there is a young clem on a trellis. The bloom is with the other bloom that I posted recently with the white stripe--the one we have yet to determine if it was labeled correctly. It is paired with another RC from SSV planted recently.

wow that is good growth from the seeds. yes radar love cold hardy....that is rc and it will be huge too. but that is amazing growth from seeds for just a few months. maybe i will plant my some of the ones i got seeing that.
i was hesitating just because i didn't want to mess around with a one year germination, and slow growth, not because i didn't want the plant.
i 'll tell you the rc with the yellow radar love next to it will be beautiful, but you may have to contain the radar. you do that buy just trimming it back when it goes where you do not want it to.

can't wait to see that rc next year right next to radar...will be amazing. if seeds sprout and grow fast, i will put a plant or two in back of my biggerst rc also. i have room and can do it behind the giant trellis that rc is on, which is really a metal room divider i got at odd lots years ago.

thanks for sharing and inspiring sharkey you stay away from those snakes, ok?

I'm paranoid now about stepping in my flower beds to deadhead and fertilize. I suspected they were here all along, but seeing one makes a believer.

As I remember, I put the radar seeds in a small take-out container with holes already in it. I sprinkled the seeds on top of seed starting mix and didn't cover them as they were so tiny. Just kept them moist, but didn't put them on the heat pad with my peppers. I was amazed when they germinated and kept growing. I DID put them under the grow lights, though. I later put them outside under a potting table in the shade for a few weeks. They were actually cute little tiny vines. I think I read where they did not need heat to germinate. I think you should go for it and plant them. Nothing to lose!

It was totally unplanned that the pot ended up next to the trellis with RC. I may end up having to put in a larger pot one day. This was just a pot that I had no other use for. I can't dig in that spot, as it is where the telephone lines are buried.

i am planting mine tonight or tomorrow morning early.

That's great! Let me know when they germinate. The packet that contained my seeds said to keep in a cool location about 55 degrees night temp. I have no idea how important that is, but evidently they don't require the heat to germinate that my peppers and other seeds did. Everything you touch seems to flourish, so I'm sure they will do fine.

not sure about that, but i will leave them outdoors in a flat of potting medium and we will see. if they do not gerrninate in a month i will move the tray to the frig for a week or two and then back outside. my seeds have been in frig since i got them so that will help i think. these seeds will not want to be overwatered or pampered during this period i am sure.
will keep you posted. yours are amazing.

Thank you. Let's just wait and see if mine bloom. If not, it makes a very pretty vine. I remember that I misted my little plants when soil became dry and bottom watered in the beginning. I can't wait to see what yours do. I've always enjoyed the challenge of growing things that I didn't think I could grow, like the hibiscus from seed.

it will bloom, not sure this year however. keep us posted!

I also bought seeds from Parks last winter of Radar Love. I stratified them in the fridge and they germinated in a month. I lost some and one survived. I planted it in a 3" pot, then in a 6" pot. Wasn't sure where I wanted to plant it outside so buried the potted plant in my garden last October.

Today was 60F degrees did some cleaning up and checked on the Clematis. I pruned it down and surprise, it is actually alive. I could see green on the inside branches I cut. Tomorrow forecast of 6" of snow. Typical of Wyoming. Will wait until I see some growth and transplant it to its permanent location on my fence.

Below is the plant in a 3" pot taken April 2009

Here is the same plant in October 14, just before I planted it outside, pot and all.

Edited to add that it is now growing in a 6" pot. It will grow to 8 ft tall. Prune hard early spring.



This message was edited Mar 18, 2010 10:51 PM

I'm glad to report that my radar love that I planted outside in its pot is producing new growth.